paillasse

or pal·liasse

[ pal-yas, pal-yas, pal-ee-as, pal-ee-as ]

noun

1. Chiefly British. a mattress of straw; pallet.

paillasse

/ ˈpælɪˌæs; ˌpælɪˈæs /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of palliasse

Word History and Origins

Origin of paillasse¹

1500–10; < French < Italian pagliaccio straw pallet, equivalent to pagli ( a ) straw (< Latin palea chaff ) + -accio pejorative noun suffix

Example Sentences

Though you and all your own family may like to sleep hard, your guests may find it difficult to sleep at all on a mattrass with a paillasse under it.

From Project Gutenberg

Every two persons shall have a mattress, a paillasse, two blankets, three pair of new sheets, two coats each, six shirts, four pair of shoes, and one capote.

From Project Gutenberg

He put one n in innuendo, and the i after the lls in paillasse.

From Project Gutenberg

He sprang with one bound to the paillasse, and withdrew from it the stiffened form of an infant four years old, dead and cold.

From Project Gutenberg

She put three peas on the young lady's paillasse, and over them a large feather-bed, and then another, then another—in fact, fifteen feather-beds.

From Project Gutenberg