paillasse

See also: Paillasse

English

Alternative forms

• palliasse

Etymology

From French, from paille (“straw”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /pælˈjɑːs/, /ˈpæljæs/, /ˌpælɪˈɑːs/, /ˈpælɪˌæs/

Noun

paillasse (plural paillasses)

1. (chiefly Britain) An under bed or mattress of straw.
   • 1908, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 29, in The Elusive Pimpernel:

     He served the Republic in comfort and ease, and had slept soundly on his paillasse in the little garret allotted to him in the Town Hall.

See also

• pallet

References

• “paillasse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• palliasse

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.jas/
• Rhymes: -jas

Etymology 1

From paille (“straw”) +‎ -asse.

Noun

paillasse f (plural paillasses)

1. paillasse, straw mattress
2. laboratory desk

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: payas

Verb

paillasse

1. first-person singular imperfect subjunctive of pailler

Etymology 2

From Italian pagliaccio, from paglia (“straw”), from Latin palea.

Noun

paillasse m (plural paillasses)

1. clown, buffoon

Descendants

• → Alemannic German: Pajass, Bajass

Further reading

• “paillasse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.