divan

¹ American  

[dih-van, -vahn, dahy-van] / dɪˈvæn, -ˈvɑn, ˈdaɪ væn /

noun

1. a sofa or couch, usually without arms or back, often usable as a bed.

2. a long, cushioned seat, usually without arms or back, placed against a wall, as in Asian countries.

3. a council of state in Turkey and other countries of the Middle East.

4. any council, committee, or commission.

5. (in the Middle East)

   1. a council chamber, judgment hall, audience chamber, or bureau of state.

   2. a large building used for some official or public purpose, as a custom house.

6. a smoking room, as in connection with a tobacco shop.

7. a collection of poems, especially a collection in Arabic or Persian of poems by one poet.

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divan ² American  

[dih-van] / dɪˈvæn /

adjective

1. (especially of chicken or turkey breast) sliced and baked in a casserole with broccoli and hollandaise sauce.

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divan British  

/ dɪˈvæn /

noun

1. 1. a backless sofa or couch, designed to be set against a wall

   2. a bed resembling such a couch

2. (esp formerly) a room for smoking and drinking, as in a coffee shop

3. 1. a Muslim law court, council chamber, or counting house

   2. a Muslim council of state

4. a collection of poems

5. (in Muslim law) an account book

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Etymology

Origin of divan¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Ottoman Turkish dīvān “state council,” from Arabic dīwān, from Persian dīwān, originally dēvan “booklet” (whence “account book, archive, office, council, bench”)

Origin of divan²

First recorded in 1935–40; named after its place of origin, the Divan Parisienne Restaurant, in the Chatham Hotel, Manhattan, New York; divine

Explanation

A divan is a piece of furniture you might have in your living room — it's a low sofa without a back, sort of like an upholstered bench. Famously, Sigmund Freud's patients reclined on a divan during psychoanalysis. The word divan comes from Turkish, and its meaning, "long, cushioned seat," evolved from "book of accounts" to "council chamber" and finally to a type of seating that's common in council chambers in the Middle East. Occasionally people mean a bed with box-springs when they talk about a divan, but it usually refers to a seat with cushions for leaning against.

Example Sentences

The green-eyed 20-year-old Queen sat next to the Shah on a divan while he sat in his shirtsleeves telling the story of the flight.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2023

A parallel tradition of high poetry in Turkish called divan poetry also developed, which used the rhyme schemes and poetic meters of Persian poetry.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

The divan on which Sigmund Freud received some 500 patients sits in the London home where he spent the last year of his life after his escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna.

From New York Times • Oct. 31, 2022

Phil Barone stepped across the threshold and spotted Cliff seated on a divan.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2022

“Oak? With his nurse,” she whispers, drawing me toward the little divan in one corner, patterned with a snake brocade and covered in a fur.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black