English
couch
Couch comes from Old French couche.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400couche
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a movable or portable bed’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596–1599couch
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400couche
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a movable or portable bed’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596–1599couch
Earliest quotation: 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, Histories: “O Sleepe, O gentle Sleepe, […] O thou dull…”
Linked words
through Old French couche
Another origin of couch
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcollocāre‘set in place’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400(se) couchier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500couchen
- Englishtodaycouch
Another origin of couch
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeyh₃-‘to live’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷih₃wós‘alive’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwikwaz‘alive, lively’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kwikwǭ‘a type of grass, similar to wheat’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kwikwā‘a type of grass, similar to wheat’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cwice‘couch grass’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500quich
- Englishtodaycouch
Today it means
noun An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French couche / couch