paillasse

or pal·liasse

[ pal-yas, pal-yas, pal-ee-as, pal-ee-as ]

noun

Chiefly British. a mattress of straw; pallet.

Origin of paillasse

1500–10; <French <Italian pagliaccio straw pallet, equivalent to pagli(a) straw (<Latin palea chaff) + -accio pejorative noun suffix

Words Nearby paillasse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use paillasse in a sentence

paillasse, pa-lyas′, n. a small bed, originally made of chaff or straw: an under mattress of straw.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) | Various
Raising one of the blinds cautiously, he recognized the little suburb of paillasse.
The Companions of Jehu | Alexandre Dumas, pre
They lie in straw-lofts, in woody brakes; rudest paillasse on the floor of a secret friend is luxury.
The French Revolution | Thomas Carlyle
The next moment she had pushed it between the paillasse and mattress of Susy's bed.
The Children of Wilton Chase | Mrs. L. T. Meade
And there are entries relating to everything between a violin and a paillasse, a brass fender and a blue beaver coat.
The Strand Magazine, Volume VII, Issue 40, April, 1894 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for paillasse

paillasse

/ (ˈpælɪˌæs, ˌpælɪˈæs) /

noun

a variant spelling (esp US) of palliasse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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