Davenport (sofa)

Line art drawing of a davenport

Davenport is the name a series of sofas made by the now-defunct Massachusetts furniture manufacturer A. H. Davenport Company. Due to the popularity of the furniture at the time, the name "Davenport" has become a genericized trademark. It is often used as a synonym for "sofa", especially in the Midwestern United States and in northern New York state. Specifically, it is used in the Adirondack Region and the Tug Hill Plateau, especially amongst those born there before World War II. The so-called Davenports of the northern New York region are often locally made sofa versions of the locally manufactured convertible Adirondack chair.

Among the younger generations, the word has come to mean a more formal sofa. In the Tug Hill and Adirondack regions in New York, a Davenport may refer especially to a couch which, like a modern futon lounge, converts on pivoting hinges from a sofa to a bed.

In other areas of North America, the word Davenport is used for a futon style sofa with storage under the seat area.

A similar word, Daveno, also refers to a sofa or couch. The term was more widely used in the 50s and 60s, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

In popular culture

The 'Warren Zevon' song "Disorder in the House" features the line "I'm sprawled across the Davenport of despair".

The Boston chapter of the Robert Benchley Society is named "We've Come for the Davenport" from a reference to an incident in the life of Robert Benchley as recorded in his biography by Nathaniel Benchley.^[1]

References

1. ^ Robert Benchley, a Biography (1955), Nathaniel Benchley, page 38.

See also

• Davenport desk
• Divan (furniture)
• Sofa bed

This article about furniture or furnishing is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Couches Furniture stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? Trelew (disambiguation) Sherbourne Park Look at other dictionaries: Davenport — could refer to: Contents 1 Places 2 People 3 Furniture 4 Other uses 5 See also …   Wikipedia Davenport desk — Mathematician John Couch Adams sitting at a Davenport desk A Davenport desk, (sometimes originally known as a Devonport desk[1]) is a small desk with an inclined lifting desktop attached with hinges to the back of the body. Lifting the desktop… …   Wikipedia davenport — [n] sofa; small desk chesterfield, convertible sofa, couch, daybed, futon, secretary, sofa bed, writing desk; concept 443 …   New thesaurus sofa — [n] couch chaise longue, chesterfield, convertible couch, davenport, daybed, divan, futon, love seat, ottoman, settee, sofa bed, window seat; concept 443 …   New thesaurus davenport — [dav′ən pôrt΄] n. [< ? ] ☆ 1. a large couch or sofa, sometimes convertible into a bed 2. Brit. a small writing desk with a hinged lid …   English World dictionary davenport — /dav euhn pawrt , pohrt /, n. 1. a large sofa, often one convertible into a bed. 2. Chiefly Brit. a small writing desk. [1850 55; the desk is said to be named after a Captain Davenport who first commissioned it] * * * ▪ Iowa, United States… …   Universalium sofa bed — noun a sofa that can be converted into a bed • Syn: ↑convertible • Hypernyms: ↑sofa, ↑couch, ↑lounge • Hyponyms: ↑davenport, ↑studio couch, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary sofa table — noun : a moderate sized oblong table with small leaves at the ends * * * a table with drawers, having drop leaves at both ends, often placed in front of or behind a sofa. Also called davenport table. * * * sofa table noun A narrow table with a… …   Useful english dictionary davenport — [ dav(ə)npɔ:t] noun 1》 Brit. an ornamental writing desk with drawers and a sloping surface for writing. 2》 N. Amer. a large, heavily upholstered sofa or sofa bed. Origin sense 1 is named after Captain Davenport, for whom a desk of this type was… …   English new terms dictionary davenport — noun a) A large sofa, especially a formal one. He blundered into the living room, lay on the davenport, hands behind his head. b) A writing desk. Then she went into the house, and, sitting down at the davenport in the dining room, got out a sheet …   Wiktionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”