Meaning & use
divan
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Meanings
nouncountable
A low, long couch without a back or arms, often set against a wall and sometimes used as a bed.
Grammar: A countable noun for furniture: a divan, two divans.
Patterns
- sit on a divan
- lie on a divan
She stretched out on the divan with a book and a cup of tea.
The guest room had a narrow divan covered in cushions.
A silk-covered divan stood under the window.
nouncountableBritish
A bed base with a solid or drawered frame and no headboard, on which a mattress sits.
Grammar: Mainly used in British English for this type of bed.
Patterns
- a divan bed
- a divan base
We bought a divan with two storage drawers underneath.
The mattress slid off the divan during the move.
A single divan fitted neatly in the box room.
nouncountablespecialist
In history, a council of state or a government office in some Middle Eastern empires, especially the Ottoman Empire.
Grammar: A historical term, often capitalized when naming a specific council.
Patterns
- the divan of something
The sultan's divan met several times a week to hear petitions.
Ministers took their seats in the divan to discuss taxes.
Historians have studied records from the imperial divan.
Word forms
| plural | divans |
|---|
Common combinations
- divan bed
- The hotel placed a divan bed in each small room.
- lounge on a divan
- They lounged on a divan, chatting for hours.
- velvet divan
- A velvet divan sat in the corner of the study.
- imperial divan
- The imperial divan advised the sultan on policy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- couch
- Couch is the everyday word for a sofa, usually with a back, while divan is a more exotic or old-fashioned term for a low backless seat.
- sofa
- A sofa normally has a back and arms, which a divan lacks.
- settee
- Settee is a British term for a standard sofa and does not suggest the backless shape of a divan.
- ottoman
- An ottoman is a padded seat or footrest, often without a back, and can also be a storage box, which a divan is not.
Word family
- divan bed noun
- a bed with a base that has no headboard or footboard
- diwan noun
- an alternative spelling for the council or collection of poems
Commonly confused: divan or davenport?
divan vs davenport
In American English a davenport is a large sofa, and in British English it is a small writing desk, so neither is a divan.
Practice
In British shops, a divan is most commonly sold as a type of ___.
Choose one answer.
A divan in British homes is a bed base on which a mattress sits. The other pieces of furniture are not called divans.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “divan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.