Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

coverlet

 - 4 dictionary results

cov⋅er⋅let

[kuhv-er-lit]
–noun
1. Also, cov⋅er⋅lid [kuhv-er-lid] . a bed quilt that does not cover the pillow, used chiefly for warmth; bedspread.
2. Archaic. any covering or cover.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME coverlite < AF cuver-lit bedspread, equiv. to cuver to cover + lit bed < L lectus; akin to lie 2 , lay 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To coverlet
cov·er·let   (kŭv'ər-lĭt)   
n.  A bedspread.

[Middle English coverlite, from Anglo-Norman coverelyth : Old French covrir, to cover; see cover + Old French lit, bed (from Latin lēctus; see legh- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

coverlet 
1381, perhaps a dim. of cover (n.), but early form coverlite suggests an unrecorded O.Fr. *covre-lit, from covrir "to cover" + lit "bed" (see litter).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

coverlet

top cover of a bed, put on for tidiness or display rather than warmth. Use of a bedspread is an extremely ancient custom, referred to in the earliest written sources, for example, the Bible: "I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry" (Proverbs 7:16). The first bedcovers were probably of fur. Later versions included every sort of refinement that weaving or embroidery could produce. The Roman historian Livy wrote in the 1st century BC that luxury, including "valuable bed covers," was first brought to Rome by the armies of Asia. An English account of 1472 makes reference to a "counterpane cloth of gold furred with ermine," and there are many similar descriptions of bed coverings in medieval inventories.

Learn more about coverlet with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see coverlet on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: