mat·tress

[ma-tris]
noun
1.
a large pad for supporting the reclining body, used as or on a bed, consisting of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, that contains hair, straw, cotton, foam rubber, etc., or a framework of metal springs.
3.
a mat woven of brush, poles, or similar material, used to prevent erosion of the surface of dikes, jetties, embankments, dams, etc.
4.
a layer of concrete placed on bare ground, as to provide a footing; mat.
5.
a layer of any material used to cushion, protect, reinforce, or the like.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English materas < Old French < Italian materasso < Arabic maṭraḥ mat, cushion

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Mattress is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Collins
World English Dictionary
mattress (ˈmætrɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a large flat pad with a strong cover, filled with straw, foam rubber, etc, and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or as part of a bed
2.  Also called: Dutch mattress a woven mat of brushwood, poles, etc, used to protect an embankment, dyke, etc, from scour
3.  Sometimes shortened to: mat a concrete or steel raft or slab used as a foundation or footing
4.  a network of reinforcing rods or expanded metal sheeting, used in reinforced concrete
5.  civil engineering another name for blinding
 
[C13: via Old French from Italian materasso, from Arabic almatrah place where something is thrown]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

mattress
late 13c., from O.Fr. materas, from It. materasso, from M.L. matracium, borrowed in Sicily from Arabic al-matrah "the cushion" (cf. Sp. almadraque "mattress"), lit. "the thing thrown down," from taraha "he threw (down)."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
After dark the bed bugs would emerge from his recliner and tattered box-spring
  mattress to feed on his blood.
Overflowing skips and perhaps a soiled mattress or two will decorate the
  stairwell.
They put me inside a mattress cover and then set it on fire.
Among the rich contents of the tomb there was a bier on which rested a mattress
  of reeds covered with three layers of linen.
Images for mattress
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