futon
nounUK /ˈfuːtɒn/ · US /ˈfutɑn/
Etymology Borrowed from Japanese 布団 (futon), in turn from Middle Chinese 蒲團 (MC bu dwan, “meditation cushion”) (compare Mandarin 蒲团 (pútuán)), from 蒲 (bu, “bulrush, cattail”) + 團 (dwan, “sphere, round object”) from the way the original cushion was round and made from woven bulrushes.
1
A thin mattress of tufted cotton or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame as a bed.
- The Japanese bed is the floor, with a wooden box under the neck for a pillow and a futon for a covering. To the foreigner the Japanese landlord allows five or six futons, or cotton-wadded comforters, and they make a tolerable mattress, although not springy, and rather apt to be damp and musty.1891, Eliza Scidmore, Jinrikisha Days in Japan, page 145:
- The futon are easily aired, and may be carried about readily when moving.1904, Clarence Ludlow Brownell, The Heart of Japan: Glimpses of Life and Nature Far from the Travellers’ Track in the Land of the Rising Sun, London: Methuen & Co., […], page 54:
2 more examples
- Normally one or two futon are laid on tatami, several inches of straw matting recessed into the floor, providing a firm but extremely comfortable night’s rest.1981, The East, page 66:
- Some futon (cotton-filled comforters and mattresses) were piled in one corner and few clothing belonging to father hung on some nails on the wall.2015, Heidi Kim, editor, Taken from the Paradise Isle: The Hoshida Family Story, University Press of Colorado, →ISBN:
2
A round cushion used for Zen meditation, traditionally made of woven bulrush leaves.
3
A specific kind of sofa-bed, with a fixed cushion that forms a mattress when folded down and a sofa when folded up.
- I was 18 years old, sleeping on a futon, cooking on a George Foreman grill and showering at a friend's house every few days.2011 November 18, Ryan Allis, “From Dumpster Diving to Running a $50 Million Company”, in TIME, archived from the original on 30 Nov 2022:
- Derived terms
- minifuton