counterpane

[ koun-ter-peyn ]
See synonyms for counterpane on Thesaurus.com
nounOlder Use.
  1. a quilt or coverlet for a bed; bedspread.

Origin of counterpane

1
1425–75; counter- + pane (in obsolete sense bedspread); replacing late Middle English counterpoynte<Middle French contre-pointe quilt, alteration (by association with contre-counter-) of cou(s)tepointe, coitepointe<Latin culcita puncta pricked pillow. See quilt, point

Other words from counterpane

  • coun·ter·paned, adjective

Words Nearby counterpane

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use counterpane in a sentence

  • She tore unconsciously at the counterpane, her fingers writhing against one another.

    The Winning Clue | James Hay, Jr.
  • She twisted the fringe of the counterpane in her slender, white fingers, and she did not look at him.

    Quin | Alice Hegan Rice
  • And the mark of the bloody hand on the counterpane, where it is dragged?

    The Dark House | Georg Manville Fenn
  • When Heidi got into bed that night she found her old straw hat lying under the counterpane.

    Heidi | Johanna Spyri
  • She spoke very languidly, and suffered Dixon to lay it on the counterpane before her, without putting out a hand to take it.

    North and South | Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

British Dictionary definitions for counterpane

counterpane

/ (ˈkaʊntəˌpeɪn) /


noun
  1. another word for bedspread

Origin of counterpane

1
C17: from obsolete counterpoint (influenced by pane coverlet), changed from Old French coutepointe quilt, from Medieval Latin culcita puncta quilted mattress

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012