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Webster 1913 Edition

Cushion

Cush′ion

(k??sh′?n)
,
Noun.
[OE.
cuischun
,
quisshen
, OF.
coissin
,
cuissin
, F.
coussin
, fr. (assumed) LL.
culcitinum
, dim. of L.
culcita
cushion, mattress, pillow. See
Quilt
, and cf.
Counterpoint
a
coverlet
.]
1.
A case or bag stuffed with some soft and elastic material, and used to sit or recline upon; a soft pillow or pad.
Two
cushions
stuffed with straw, the seat to raise.
Dryden.
2.
Anything resembling a cushion in properties or use
; as:
(a)
a pad on which gilders cut gold leaf
;
(b)
a mass of steam in the end of the cylinder of a steam engine to receive the impact of the piston
;
(c)
the elastic edge of a billiard table.
3.
A riotous kind of dance, formerly common at weddings; – called also
cushion dance
.
Halliwell.
Cushion capital
.
(Arch.)
A capital so sculptured as to appear like a cushion pressed down by the weight of its entablature.
(b)
A name given to a form of capital, much used in the Romanesque style, modeled like a bowl, the upper part of which is cut away on four sides, leaving vertical faces.
–
Cushion star
(Zool.)
a pentagonal starfish belonging to
Goniaster
,
Astrogonium
, and other allied genera; – so called from its form.

Cush′ion

(koŏsh′ŭn)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Cushioned
(-ŭnd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Cushioning
.]
1.
To seat or place on, or as on a cushion.
Many who are
cushioned
on thrones would have remained in obscurity.
Bolingbroke.
2.
To furnish with cushions;
as, to
cushion
a chaise
.
3.
To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion.
Cushioned hammer
,
a dead-stroke hammer. See under
Dead-stroke
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Cushion

CUSHION

,
Noun.
1.
A pillow for a seat; a soft pad to be placed on a chair; a bag, stuffed with wool, hair or other soft material.
2.
A bag of leather filled with sand, used by engravers to support the plate.
3.
In gilding, a stuffing of fine tow or wool, covered by leather, on a board; used for receiving the leaves of gold from the paper, in order to its being cut into proper sizes and figures.
Ladys cushion, a plant, a species of saxifraga.
Sea cushion, sea pink or thrift, a species of Statice.

CUSHION

,
Verb.
T.
To seat on a cushion.

Definition 2024

cushion

cushion

English

Noun

cushion ‎(plural cushions)

  1. A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support; for sitting on, kneeling on, resting one's head on etc.
    • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tremarn Case:
      “There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 12, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.
  2. Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
    1. A pad on which gilders cut gold leaf.
    2. A mass of steam in the end of the cylinder of a steam engine to receive the impact of the piston.
    3. (sports, billiards, snooker, pool) The lip around a table in cue sports which absorbs some of the impact of the billiard balls and bounces them back.
  3. (figuratively) a sufficient quantity of an intangible object (like points or minutes) to allow for some of those points, for example, to be lost without hurting one's chances for successfully completing an objective.
    • 2011 November 3, Arindam Rej, “Fulham 4-1 Wisla Krakow”, in BBC Sport:
      Wisla made a bright start to the second half and Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer was twice called into action, first saving Gervasio Nunez's deflected 20-yard effort and then smothering Gargula's free-kick.
      But Fulham soon had the cushion of a third goal after more outstanding build-up play.
  4. (obsolete) A riotous dance, formerly common at weddings.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

Translations

See also

Verb

cushion ‎(third-person singular simple present cushions, present participle cushioning, simple past and past participle cushioned)

  1. To furnish with cushions.
    to cushion a sofa
  2. To seat or place on, or as on a cushion.
    • Bolingbroke
      Many who are cushioned on thrones would have remained in obscurity.
  3. To absorb or deaden the impact of.
    to cushion a blow
  4. To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion.

Translations

Trivia

One of three common words containing shion, which are cushion, fashion, and parishioner.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ The Word Circus: A Letter-perfect Book, by Richard Lederer, Dave Morice, 1998, p. 259
  2. ↑ Weeds in the Garden of Words: Further Observations on the Tangled History of the English Language, Kate Burridge, 2005, p. 82, p. 184

Etymology

From later Old French coissin (modern coussin), ultimately from Latin coxa via a Vulgar Latin root *coxinum ‘hip, thigh’ or alternatively from Latin culcita ‎(“mattress”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkʊʃən/
  • Rhymes: -ʊʃən

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