Today’s word of the day is an indispensable piece of furniture found in most homes: the humble divano (couch, sofa, settee).
It is a masculine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles:
il divano
the couch
un divano
a couch
i divani
the couches
dei divani
(some) couches
Alice si sta rilassando sul divano, sorseggiando una tazza di caffè e leggendo un libro.
Alice is relaxing on the couch, sipping a cup of coffee and reading a book.
Like the English word divan, its origin can be traced back to the Turkish divan, which in turn comes from the Persian diwan meaning ‘anthology, register, court, or bench’.
As a piece of furniture used in the 18th century Middle East, a divano was originally a low bench or raised section of floor against an interior wall. European imitation of this in the 19th century produced the meaning ‘low flat sofa or bed’.
In more recent times, it has been used as a synonym for consiglio (council), especially to indicate the council of ministers in the Ottoman Empire, and in the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, it also had the meaning of assemblea (assembly) and tribunale supremo (supreme court).
Some different kinds of divani include:
- divano letto = sofa bed
- divano a due / tre posti = 2 / 3 seater sofa
- divano angolare = L shaped / corner sofa
- divano componibile = modular sofa
- divano con penisola = chaise sofa
- divano alla turca = ottoman
Less commonly, the divano also goes by the names canapè and sofà.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
