furniture
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle French fourniture (“a supply, or the act of furnishing”), from fournir (“to furnish”).
[edit] Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /ˈfəːnɪtʃə/, SAMPA: /"f3:nItS@/
- (US) IPA: /ˈfəɹnɪtʃəɹ/, SAMPA: /"f3`nItS@`/
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Audio (US) (file)
[edit] Noun
furniture (countable and uncountable; plural furnitures)
- (archaic) The harness, trappings etc. of a horse or other animal.
- 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.42:
- We commend a horse because he is strong and nimble, [...] and not for his furniture: a greyhound for his swiftnesse, not for his collar: a hawke for her wing, not for her cranes or bells.
- 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.42:
- An item, or, used collectively, items, usually in a room, which enhance the room's characteristics, functionally and/or decoratively.
- Equipment worn by a falcon or hawk to facilitate handling by the falconer / austringer, e.g. jesses
[edit] Usage notes
- Before the end of the nineteenth century, the plural furnitures existed in Standard English in both the U.S. and the U.K.; during the twentieth century, however, it ceased to be used by native speakers.
- A single item of furniture, such as a chair or a table, is often called a piece of furniture.
[edit] Hyponyms
- See also Wikisaurus:furniture
[edit] Meronyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
an item, or items, (usually) in a room
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[edit] External links
- furniture in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- furniture in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
