palliasse
/pæl'jæs/ Cách viết khác : (palliasse) /pæl'jæs/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A thin, hard mattress traditionally filled with straw, chaff, or sawdust. It is a simple, inexpensive type of bedding.
Usage
A palliasse is a historical type of mattress. It is used to describe basic, often uncomfortable bedding, typically associated with poverty, military barracks, prisons, or historical settings. * It functions as a singular, countable noun (e.g., a palliasse, the palliasse). * The plural form is palliasses.
Examples
- The soldier slept on a thin palliasse on the barrack floor.
- In the old cottage, the bed frame held nothing but a lumpy palliasse.
- Historical accounts describe prisoners being given only a palliasse for sleeping.
Advanced Usage
- The word palliasse often carries connotations of hardship, austerity, or a bygone era. Its use in modern contexts is typically descriptive or historical, as this type of mattress has been largely replaced by modern upholstered ones.
Variants and Related Words
- Pallet: In some contexts, especially American English, a simple, portable sleeping pad or a hard bed can be called a "pallet," which is conceptually similar to a palliasse but not necessarily straw-filled.
- Truckle bed: A low bed on wheels that could be stored under a larger bed, which might have used a palliasse.
- Shakedown: (Informal, nautical/military) A makeshift bed, often on the floor, which could involve a palliasse.
Synonyms
- Straw mattress
- Pad
- Bedding (in a very general sense)
Antonyms
- (Modern) Mattress
- Featherbed
- Box spring
Notes on Different Meanings
The word palliasse has only one primary meaning related to bedding. It is not commonly used in idioms or phrasal verbs.
Noun
- mattress consisting of a thin pad filled with straw or sawdust