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MATTRESS (O.Fr. materas, mod. matelas...

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Originally appearing in Volume V17, Page 903 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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MATTRESS (O.Fr. materas, mod. matelas; the origin is the Arab. al-materah, cushion, whence Span. and Port. almadraque, Ital. materasso)

MATTRESS (O.Fr. materas, mod. matelas; the origin is the Arab. al-materah, See also:
CUSHION (from O. Fr. coisson, coussin; according to the New English Dict., from Lat. coxa, a hip; others say from Lat. culcita, a quilt)
cushion, whence Span. and See also:
PORT
Port. almadraque, Ital. materasso) , the padded See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation of a See also:

bed, formed of See also:

CANVAS

canvas or other stout material stuffed with See also:

WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES

wool, See also:

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair, See also:

FLOCK

flock or See also:

STRAW

straw; in the last See also:

case it is properly known as a " palliasse " (Fr. paille, straw; See also:

Lat. palea); but this See also:

TERM

term is often applied to an under-mattress stuffed with substances other than straw. The padded mattress on which See also:

lay the See also:

FEATHER (0. Eng. (ether, Ger. Feder, from an Indo-European root seen also in Gr. lrrepov, and aEreo-Oat, to fly)

feather-bed has been replaced by the See also:

WIRE (A.S. wir, a wire; cf. Swed. vire, to twist, M.H.G. wiere, a gold ornament, Lat. viriae, armlets, ultimately from the root wi, to twist, bind)

wire-mattress," a network of wire stretched on a See also:

LIGHT

light wooden or See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron See also:

FRAME

frame, which is either a See also:

SEPARATE

separate structure or a component See also:

PART

part of the bedstead itself. The "wire-mattress" has taken the See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place of the " See also:

SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring mattress," in which See also:

SPIRAL

spiral springs support the stuffing. The term " mattress " is used in See also:

ENGINEERING

engineering for a See also:

MAT (O. Eng. meatt, from late Lat. mattes, whence Ital. mallet, Ger. and Dan. matte, Du. mat, &c.)

mat of brushwood, faggots, &c., corded together and used as a foundation or as See also:

SURFACE

surface in the construction of dams, jetties, dikes, &c.

End of Article: MATTRESS (O.Fr. materas, mod. matelas; the origin is the Arab. al-materah, cushion, whence Span. and Port. almadraque, Ital. materasso)

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