Everything about Ottoman Furniture totally explained
An
ottoman is a piece of
furniture, a padded,
upholstered seat or bench having neither back nor arms, often used as a
stool or
footstool, or in some cases as an improvised
coffee table.
An ottoman can also be known as a
footstool,
tuffet,
hassock or
pouf (
(External Link
)). Some ottomans are hollow, in which case they're often used as blanket boxes.
Word history
The word
ottoman was introduced into
English in the "
footstool" sense in
1806 (probably from the identical
French word, which also denotes a type of
textile fabric), because the ottoman's typical use in a reclining position was associated in
Europe with the Orient, in line with fashionable
Turkish influence since the early
18th century (when the Balkans were still partially under Ottoman rule). It isn't supposed to have been invented by the
Ottoman Turks (compare
divan). The word Ottoman as associated with the furniture used as a footstool is widely believed to have come about in the late 18th century when the Ottamans as a people were invaded by the French. This invasion included physical punishment to include "pain walks" (loosely translated) - because of these walks Ottomans soon thereafter fashioned footstools to rest their tired extremities. These footstools later became widely popular in Europe and the term 'Ottoman' was coined to give tribute to the furniture's origin.
References in popular culture
In the opening
title sequence of
The Dick Van Dyke Show,
Dick Van Dyke trips over an ottoman. A second version of the opening depicts him side-stepping the ottoman, not resulting in a trip.
A running gag on
Bonanza had
Ben Cartwright ask his son
Little Joe "Hey, Joseph, do you know the difference between a table and an ottoman?". When Little Joe responded "Sure I do" his father declared "Then take your feet off the table!"
In the
Barenaked Ladies's song "
If I Had $1000000," when listing off what he'd buy his love,
Ed Robertson sings "I'd buy you furniture for your house," and
Steven Page sings "Maybe a nice Chesterfield or an Ottoman." Another reference can be found in the
Death Cab for Cutie song "Photobooth", which includes the line, "And our clothes in a pile on the ottoman". Wally from
Dilbert makes an Ottoman joke in the 13/03/2007 episode.
In the
Friends episode
The One With The Butt,
Rachel cleans the apartment, in the process moving
Monica’s green Ottoman. Monica cleverly tries to hide the fact that she's obsessive by suggesting “Why don’t we see what it looks like in its old place… just to compare?”.
In the
Seinfeld episode
The Non-Fat Yogurt,
Jerry says, "I did this thing on the Ottoman Empire. Like, what was this? A whole empire based on putting your
feet up?"
In the
Mad About You episode
The Alan Brady Show, guest star
Carl Reiner (reprising his role on
The Dick Van Dyke Show) does a scene revolving around tripping over an ottoman.
In the
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch episode
Welcome Back, Duke, guest star
Dick Van Dyke plays a witch who in one scene conjures an ottoman which
Sabrina trips over.
Sources and references
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ottoman Furniture'.
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