divan
noun
[ dɪˈvan ]
• a bed consisting of a base and mattress but no footboard or headboard.
• a long, low sofa without a back or arms.
• a legislative body, council chamber, or court of justice in the Ottoman Empire or elsewhere in the Middle East.
Origin:
late 16th century (in divan (sense 3 of the noun)): via French or Italian from Turkish dīvān, from Persian dīwān ‘anthology, register, court, or bench’; compare with diwan. As a piece of furniture, a divan was originally (early 18th century) a low bench or raised section of floor against an interior wall, used as a long seat and common in Middle Eastern countries; European imitation of this led to the sense ‘low flat sofa or bed’ (late 19th century).
