Davenport was the name of a series of

sofa A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with uph ...

s made by the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

furniture manufacturer A. H. Davenport and Company, now defunct. Due to the popularity of the furniture at the time, the name ''davenport'' became a

genericized trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

in parts of the United States.

Variations

It is used as a synonym for "sofa" or "couch" in some

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

s of the United States, especially the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

and

Buffalo, NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

–

Erie, PA Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

areas.Jøhndal, Marius et al. (2018)

004-2006 A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

The UWM Dialect Survey
. Cambridge University. It was used in the Adirondack Region and the

Tug Hill Plateau Tug Hill, sometimes referred to as the Tug Hill Plateau, is an upland region in northern New York State, famous for heavy winter snows. The Tug Hill region is east of Lake Ontario, north of Oneida Lake, and west of the Adirondack Mountains. The r ...

amongst those born there before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The so-called davenports of the northern New York region are often sofa versions of the locally manufactured convertible

Adirondack chair The Adirondack chair is an outdoor lounge chair with wide armrests, a tall slatted back, and a seat that is higher in the front than the back. Its name references the Adirondack Mountains. The chair was invented by Thomas Lee between 1900 and 190 ...

. Among the younger generations, the word has come to mean a more formal sofa. In the Tug Hill and Adirondack regions in New York, a davenport may refer especially to a couch which, like a modern

futon A is a traditional Japanese style of bedding. A complete futon set consists of a and a . Both elements of a futon bedding set are pliable enough to be folded and stored away in a large during the day. This allows a room to serve as a bedro ...

lounge, converts on pivoting

hinge A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation: all other ...

s from a sofa to a bed. In other areas of North America, the word davenport is used for a

-style sofa with storage under the seat area.

Etymology

A "large upholstered couch," 1897, apparently named for the manufacturer. Earlier (1853) "a kind of small ornamental writing table." The proper name is attested from 12th century, from a place in Cheshire (Old English Devennport). A similar word, Daveno, also refers to a sofa or couch. The term was more widely used in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

References

External links

* {{wiktionary-inline, davenport Couches

Variations

Etymology

See also

References

External links