An
ottoman is a piece of
furnitureFurniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
consisting of a padded,
upholsteredUpholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English words up and holden, meaning to hold up. The term is applied to domestic furniture and also to in automobiles and boats...
seat or bench having neither back nor arms, often used as a
stoolA stool can refer to:*A type of chair without back and arm rests** In West Africa, a throne** A bar stool ** A footstool* A flush toilet, in some dialects* Feces:* A living stump capable of producing sprouts or cuttings...
or
footstoolA footstool is a piece of furniture, the purpose of which is to support one's feet. There are two main types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into two categories, those designed for comfort and those designed for function....
, or in some cases as an improvised
coffee tableA coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a sofa, to support beverages , magazines, feet, books , and other small items to be used while sitting, such as coasters. Coffee tables are usually found in the living room or...
. Ottomans are often sold as coordinating furniture with
armchairsA chair is a raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs often have the seat raised above floor level, supported by four legs. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up, a bar stool or high chair . A chair with arms is an armchair and with...
or
glidersA glider or platform rocker is a type of rocking chair that moves as a swing seat, where the entire frame consists of a seat attached to the base by means of a double-rocker four bar linkage...
.
An ottoman can also be known as a
footstool,
tuffetTuffet, pouffe or hassock are all terms for a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in fabric so that no legs are visible. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more...
,
hassock or
pouffeTuffet, pouffe or hassock are all terms for a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in fabric so that no legs are visible. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more...
. Some ottomans are hollow, in which case they are often used as blanket boxes.
The word
ottoman was introduced into
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
in the "
footstoolA footstool is a piece of furniture, the purpose of which is to support one's feet. There are two main types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into two categories, those designed for comfort and those designed for function....
" sense in 1806 (probably from the identical
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
word, which also denotes a type of
textileA textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands...
fabric), because the ottoman's typical use in a reclining position was associated in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
with the Orient, in line with fashionable
TurkishThe Turkish people , also known as the "Turks" are defined mainly as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. An early historic text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey; whatever his/her faith or racial/ethnic background; who speaks Turkish, grows up...
influence since the early 18th century (when the Balkans were still partially under Ottoman rule).
An
ottoman is a piece of
furnitureFurniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
consisting of a padded,
upholsteredUpholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English words up and holden, meaning to hold up. The term is applied to domestic furniture and also to in automobiles and boats...
seat or bench having neither back nor arms, often used as a
stoolA stool can refer to:*A type of chair without back and arm rests** In West Africa, a throne** A bar stool ** A footstool* A flush toilet, in some dialects* Feces:* A living stump capable of producing sprouts or cuttings...
or
footstoolA footstool is a piece of furniture, the purpose of which is to support one's feet. There are two main types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into two categories, those designed for comfort and those designed for function....
, or in some cases as an improvised
coffee tableA coffee table, also called a cocktail table, is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a sofa, to support beverages , magazines, feet, books , and other small items to be used while sitting, such as coasters. Coffee tables are usually found in the living room or...
. Ottomans are often sold as coordinating furniture with
armchairsA chair is a raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs often have the seat raised above floor level, supported by four legs. A chair without a back or arm rests is a stool, or when raised up, a bar stool or high chair . A chair with arms is an armchair and with...
or
glidersA glider or platform rocker is a type of rocking chair that moves as a swing seat, where the entire frame consists of a seat attached to the base by means of a double-rocker four bar linkage...
.
An ottoman can also be known as a
footstool,
tuffetTuffet, pouffe or hassock are all terms for a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in fabric so that no legs are visible. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more...
,
hassock or
pouffeTuffet, pouffe or hassock are all terms for a piece of furniture used as a footstool or low seat. It is distinguished from a stool by being completely covered in fabric so that no legs are visible. It is essentially a large hard cushion that may have an internal wooden frame to give it more...
. Some ottomans are hollow, in which case they are often used as blanket boxes.
Word history
The word
ottoman was introduced into
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
in the "
footstoolA footstool is a piece of furniture, the purpose of which is to support one's feet. There are two main types of footstool, which can be loosely categorized into two categories, those designed for comfort and those designed for function....
" sense in 1806 (probably from the identical
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
word, which also denotes a type of
textileA textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands...
fabric), because the ottoman's typical use in a reclining position was associated in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
with the Orient, in line with fashionable
TurkishThe Turkish people , also known as the "Turks" are defined mainly as citizens of the Republic of Turkey. An early historic text provided the definition of being a Turk as "any individual within the Republic of Turkey; whatever his/her faith or racial/ethnic background; who speaks Turkish, grows up...
influence since the early 18th century (when the Balkans were still partially under Ottoman rule). It is not supposed to have been invented by the
Ottoman TurksThe Ottoman Turks were the subdivision of the Ottoman Muslim Millet that dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. Reliable information about the early history of the Ottomans is scarce. According to some sources , the leader of the Kayi tribe of the Oguz Turks, Ertugrul, left Persia in...
(compare
divanA divan is a piece of couch-like sitting furniture.Originally, in the Orient , a divan was a long seat formed of a mattress laid against the side of the room, upon the floor, or upon a raised structure or frame, with cushions to lean against.Divans received this name because they were generally...
).
The word
ottoman as associated with the furniture used as a footstool is widely believed to have come about in the late 18th century when Egypt, then a part of the Ottoman Empire, was invaded by the French. This invasion included physical punishment to include "pain walks" (loosely translated) - because of these walks Ottomans soon thereafter fashioned footstools to rest their tired extremities. These footstools later became widely popular in Europe and the term
ottoman was coined to give tribute to the furniture's origin.