mattress
noun
- sleeping platform
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈmætɹɪs/
noun
Etymology: From Middle English materas, from Old French, from Arabic مَطْرَح (maṭraḥ, “place where something is thrown”), from طَرَحَ (ṭaraḥa, “to throw”). Compare divan, from Persian via Turkish (both of Middle Eastern origin, due to the local custom of lying on padding on floor being foreign to Europeans).
- A pad on which a person can recline and sleep, usually having an inner section of coiled springs covered with foam or other cushioning material then enclosed with cloth fabric.
- A form of retaining wall used to support foundations or an embankment
- A form of lagging, in particular for boilers.
“Spun glass mattresses are used for lagging the boiler, which has three Ross pop safety valves on the front ring.”
“The boiler and firebox are lagged with a lightweight Fibreglass mattress.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English materas, from Old French, from Arabic مَطْرَح (maṭraḥ, “place where something is thrown”), from طَرَحَ (ṭaraḥa, “to throw”). Compare divan, from Persian via Turkish (both of Middle Eastern origin, due to the local custom of lying on padding on floor being foreign to Europeans).
- To cover with a thick layer, like a mattress; to blanket.
“A comfortable litter of pine needles had mattressed the ground and spreading branches had been a canopy overhead.”