A couch, also called a sofa, is an item of furniture designed to seat more than one person, and providing support for the back and arms. Typically, it will have an armrest on either side. In homes couches are normally found in the family room, living room, den or the lounge. They consist of a wooden or metal structure supplemented by padding and are covered in a variety of textiles, leather, or sometimes a combination of both. They will also be found in hotels and parts of commercial offices, waiting rooms, furniture stores, etc.
The term 'couch' is used in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Other terms synonymous with the above definition of couch are sofa (derived from the Arabic word suffah), settee, chesterfield, divan, and canapé.
Contents |
The most common types of couches are the "loveseat", or British two-seater, and the settee or sofa, with two or more seats.[1] A sectional sofa, often just referred to as a "sectional", is formed from multiple sections (typically two to four) and usually includes at least two pieces that join at an angle of 90 degrees or slightly greater, used to wrap around walls or other furniture. A sectional sofa is known as a corner sofa in the UK.
Other couch variants include the divan, the fainting couch (backless or partial-backed), the chaise longue (long with one armrest), the canapé (an ornamental 3-seater), and the ottoman (generally considered a type of footstool). To conserve space, some sofas double as beds in the form of sofa-beds, daybeds, or futons. There are also couches known by genericized trademarked names, such as a davenport or Chesterfield (named for one of the Earls of Chesterfield).
In the United Kingdom a Chesterfield is a deep buttoned sofa, with arms and back of the same height. It is usually made from leather and the term Chesterfield in British English is only applied to this type of sofa.
The term "chesterfield" is a Canadian term equivalent to couch or sofa. The use of the term has been found to be widespread among older Canadians. This term is quickly vanishing from Canadian English according to one survey done in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario in 1992.[2] Northern California is the only place besides Canada where "chesterfield" is a synonym for couch or sofa;[3] again, this probably applies nowadays to older Northern Californians. In the United Kingdom, the word refers to a particular style of sofa featuring a low rolled back and deep buttoning.
The term "three-piece suite" is used to describe a furniture set consisting of a two or three-seater couch and two armchairs. Other less specific terms for sets with at least one sofa include "chesterfield suite", "lounge suite", "living-room suite" and "sofa suite".