Dictionary Definition
cushion
Noun
1 a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden
impulses; "the old car needed a new set of shocks" [syn: shock
absorber, shock]
2 a soft bag filled with air or a mass of padding
such as feathers or foam rubber etc. v : protect from impact;
"cushion the blow" [syn: buffer, soften]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /ˈkʊʃən/
- /"kUS=@n/
- Rhymes: -ʊʃən
Noun
- A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support; for sitting on, kneeling on, resting one's head on etc.
- Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
- In the context of "sports|billiards|snooker|pool": The lip around a table in cue sports which absorbs some of the impact of the billiard balls and bounces them back.
Translations
soft material in cloth bag
- Czech: polštář
- Danish: pude, hynde
- Finnish: tyyny
- French: coussin
- German: Kissen
- Hungarian: párna, vánkos
- Italian: cuscino
- Japanese: クッション (kusshon)
- Lao: (bö')
- Polish: poduszka
- Portuguese: almofada
- Russian: подушка
- Slovene: blazina (1)
- Spanish: cojín , almohadón
- Swedish: dyna, kudde
- Ukrainian: подушка
absorbent or protective item
- Danish: bande
- Finnish: pehmuste
- German: Puffer, Polster
- Japanese: クッション (kusshon)
- Polish: poduszka
- Portuguese: amortecedor , almofada
- Slovene: blazina (1)
- Spanish: colchón , amortiguante
- Swedish: kudde
- Ukrainian: буфер
in cue sports
- Danish: bande
- Finnish: valli
- German: Bande
- Italian: sponda
- Japanese: クッション (kusshon)
- Polish: banda
- Portuguese: tabela
- Spanish: banda
- Swedish: vall
- Ukrainian: борт
- ttbc Breton: torchenn f -où pl
- ttbc Dutch: kussen n
- ttbc Esperanto: kuseno
- ttbc Indonesian: lapik duduk
- ttbc Interlingua: cossino, cossinetto
- ttbc Korean: 쿠션 kushyeon; 방석 bangseok (floor cushion)
- ttbc Telugu: మెత్త
- Volapük: kusen, kapakusen
See also
Verb
- to provide a soft pillow cushion
- to absorb or deaden the impact of something
Translations
provide cushion
- Danish: polstre
- German: polstern
- Serbian: obžiti, ublažiti
- Slovene: oblaziniti
- Spanish: amortiguar
- Swedish: stoppa, madrassera
absorb impact
- Danish: afbøde
- Finnish: pehmentää
- French: amortir
- German: abdämpfen, abfedern
- Portuguese: amortecer
- Russian: смягчать удар
- Serbian: ublažiti
- Slovene: ublažiti (udarec)
- Spanish: amortiguar suavizar proteger
- Swedish: dämpa, mildra
- ttbc Breton: distronsañ
- ttbc Interlingua: amortir
- Volapük: kusenön
Extensive Definition
A cushion (from Old French
coisson, coussin; from Latin culcita, a
quilt), is a soft bag of some ornamental material, stuffed with
wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber,
non-woven
material, or even paper
torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon,
or to soften the hardness or angularity of a chair or couch. Cushions and
rugs can be used
temporarily outside, to soften a hard ground. They can be placed on
sunloungers and used to prevent annoyances from moist grass and biting insects. Some dialects of
English use this word to refer to throw
pillows as well.
The cushion is a very ancient article of furniture; the inventories of
the contents of palaces
and great houses in the early Middle Ages
constantly made mention of them. Cushions were then often of great
size, covered with leather, and firm enough to
serve as a seat, but the steady tendency of all furniture has been
to grow smaller with time. Cushions were, indeed, used as seats at
all events in France and Spain at a very much
later period, and in Saint-Simon's
time we find that in the Spanish court they were still regarded as
a peculiarly honourable substitute for a chair. In France, the
right to kneel upon a cushion in church behind the king was
jealously guarded and strictly regulated, as we learn again from
Saint-Simon. This type of cushion was called a carreau, or squaer.
When seats were rude and hard, cushions may have been a necessity;
they are now one of the minor luxuries of life.
The term cushion is given in architecture to the sides
of the Ionic
capital. It is also applied to an early and simple form of the
Romanesque
capitals of Germany and
England,
which consist of cubical masses, square at the top and rounded off
at the four corners, so as to reduce the lower diameter to a circle
of the same size as the shaft.
See also
cushion in German: Kissen
cushion in Esperanto: Kuseno
cushion in French: Coussin
cushion in Finnish: Tyyny
cushion in Portuguese: Almofada
cushion in Swedish: Kudde
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abate,
absorb, absorb the shock,
acoustic tile, aegis,
afford support, air mattress, allay, alleviate, alleviative, alleviator, anesthetize, anodyne, antiknock, appease, arm, arm guard, armor, assuage, assuager, back, back up, backstop, baffle, baffler, balm, barrier, bear, bear up, bedding, benumb, bless, blubber, bolster, bolster up, brace, brattice, break the fall,
breeze, buffer, buffer state, bulkhead, bulwark, bumper, buoy up, butter, buttress, calmative, carry, champion, clay, cloak, cloison, collision mat, compass
about, contraceptive, copyright, cover, cradle, crash helmet, crutch, damp, dampen, dampener, damper, dashboard, deaden, deaden the pain, deafen, defend, diaphragm, diminish, dissepiment, dividing line,
dividing wall, division, dodger, dolorifuge, dough, down, dull, ease, ease matters, eiderdown, ensure, face mask, feather bed,
feathers, fence, fend, fender, finger guard, fleece, floss, flue, fluff, foam, foment, foot guard, fuse, gag, gentle, give relief, give
support, goggles,
governor, guarantee, guard, guardrail, hand guard,
handrail, harbor, hard hat, haven, helmet, hold, hold up, hushcloth, innerspring
mattress, insulate,
insulation, insure, interlock, interseptum, kapok, keep, keep afloat, keep from harm,
keep up, knead, knee
guard, knuckle guard, laminated glass, laxate, lay, lend support, lenitive, lessen, life preserver, lifeline, lightning conductor,
lightning rod, limber,
limber up, litter,
loosen, lull, mainstay, maintain, make safe, mash, mask, massage, mat, mattress, mellow, midriff, midsection, milden, mitigate, mitigator, moderator, modulator, mollifier, mollify, mudguard, muffle, muffler, mute, muzzle, nestle, neutralize, nose guard,
numb, offset, pacificator, pacifier, pad, padding, palladium, pallet, palliate, palliative, panel, paries, partition, party wall,
patent, peacemaker, pillow, pilot, plump, plush, police, poultice, pour balm into, pour
oil on, preventive,
prop, property line,
prophylactic,
protect, protective
clothing, protective umbrella, pudding, puff, pulp, putty, quietener, reduce, register, reinforce, relax, relieve, restraining hand, ride
shotgun for, rubber,
rug, safeguard, safety, safety glass, safety
plug, safety rail, safety shoes, safety switch, safety valve,
salve, satin, screen, seat belt, secure, sedative, separation, septulum, septum, shake up, shelter, shield, shin guard, shock
absorber, shock pad, shore, shore up, shoulder, show consideration,
show mercy, show pity, shroud, silence cloth, silencer, silk, slacken, slake, sleeping bag, smash, soft pedal, soft-pedal,
soften, soften the blow,
soften up, soothe,
soother, soothing syrup,
sordine, sordino, sound-absorbing
material, soundproofing,
soundproofing insulation, sourdine, springs, squash, stabilizer, stay, stop, stupe, subdue, subsidize, subvention, sun helmet,
supple, support, suppress, sustain, swansdown, temperer, tenderize, thistledown, tone down,
tranquilizer, tune
down, umbrella,
underbed, underbedding, underbrace, undergird, underlie, underpin, underset, underwrite, upbear, uphold, upkeep, velvet, wall, wax, windscreen, windshield, wiser head,
wool, zephyr