See also: SOFA, Sofa, sofá, sofà, sófa, and sofā

English

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Etymology 1

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 sofa on Wikipedia

Borrowed from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa), a long seat made of stone or brick, covered with rich carpets and cushions and used for sitting upon. Cognate with Aramaic צפא/ܨܦܬܐ (ṣipā’, ṣeppəṯā, “mat, matting”). The word may have entered European languages via Muslim Iberia or through Turkish.

 
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A firm sofa
 
A soft sofa
 
A modern-style sofa

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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sofa (plural sofas)

  1. (Middle East architecture, archaic) A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
  2. (furniture) An upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.
    Synonyms: couch, lounge, divan, settee
    • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 228:
      His eyes trailed over her feline pose on the sofa, finding her limbs adorable while he tried exasperatedly to extract the truth of licentious revelations from them.
Derived terms
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Descendants
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Translations
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See also
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Verb

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sofa (third-person singular simple present sofas, present participle sofaing, simple past and past participle sofaed)

  1. To furnish with one or more sofas.
    • 1852, Charles Astor Bristed, Five years in an English university, page 14:
      The appearance of a student's apartment, though by no means splendid, is decidedly comfortable ; it is well cushioned and sofaed, with a proper proportion of arm chairs, and a general air of respectability — much better on the whole than our student's rooms ever are.
    • 1890, Stanley Lane-Poole, The Life of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe - Volume 1, page 100:
      First, it will surprize you to learn that instead of the venerable simplicity which reigns in St. Stephen's chapel, the H. of Representatives, besides being stoved, carpeted, desked, and sofaed in the most luxurious style, rivals and indeed surpasses the Legislature of Paris in decoration and drapery.
    • 1893, Henry Swinglehurst, Silver Mines and Incidents of Travel, page 97:
      I and another therefore entirely occupied our stateroom, which was sofaed round, being just large enough for two to lie down and a third to sit with his feet up and his head on his knees.
    • 1981, David A. Kaufelt, The Wine and the Music, page 331:
      It was a lavish, fully draped, fully sofaed, fully radiator-covered nineteenth-century deluxe German hotel suite.
  2. To seat or lay down on a sofa.
    • 1895, Denver Medical Times - Volume 5, page 191:
      Cliques of three or more are formed, each member of which goes in search of victims, and the first female found complaining of pain in the lower part of her back, is immediately run down, corralled, cornered, so to speak, and sans ceremonie she is at once tabled, sofaed or beded, or in the absence of these relics of refinement she is floored or she may have to submit standing (especially if the doctor is in a hury and meets her at the gate or corner drug store) with an unerring plunge, of a not overly clean index finger, the darksome cavern is penetrated and perhaps, not, a cervix is touched and reveals, of course, a lacerated cervix, just as had been predicted.
    • 1880 October 22, Benjamin Disraeli, chapter XVI, in George Earle Buckle, editor, The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, volume VI: 1876–1881, published 1929, Hughenden Manor; To Lady Bradford, page 592:
      A few, feeble words—my first—to tell you I have left my room this morning and am shaven and shorn and dressed and sofaed in my writing room, after a terrible ten days or more.
    • 2006, Kim Akass, Janet McCabe, Reading 'Desperate Housewives': Beyond the White Picket Fence:
      Many a time back in my boozing days when I was sofaed too.

References

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  • "sofa, n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Etymology 2

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Noun

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sofa (plural sofas)

  1. (historical) A slave soldier who served in the army of the Mali Empire.
    • 2006, Magbaily C. Fyle, Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone, page xx:
      1884 Sofas conquer northern Sierra Leone. The sofas were soldiers of Mandinka empire builder, Samori Turay. Falaba, capital of Solima Yalunka kingdom, destroyed in the process.

Anagrams

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Danish

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Noun

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sofa c (singular definite sofaen, plural indefinite sofaer)

  1. sofa, couch, divan, settee

Inflection

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French sofa, perhaps via Turkish sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsoː.faː/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: so‧fa

Noun

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sofa m (plural sofa's, diminutive sofaatje n)

  1. (chiefly Belgium) a couch, a sofa
    Synonyms: bank, zitbank

French

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sofa

Etymology

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Ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, a long seat made of stone or brick), from Aramaic צפא (ṣipā’, mat)/Classical Syriac ܨܦܬܐ. The word may have entered French via Turkish sofa.

Note casually that Arabic itself uses كَنَبة (kanaba) for “sofa”, from French canapé.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sofa m (plural sofas)

  1. couch; sofa
    Synonym: canapé

Descendants

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Further reading

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Icelandic

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Etymology

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From Old Norse sofa, from Proto-Germanic *swefaną.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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sofa (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative svaf, third-person plural past indicative sváfum, supine sofið)

  1. (intransitive) to sleep
    Ekki vekja hana, hún er sofandi.
    Don't wake her up, she's sleeping.

Conjugation

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This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

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Indonesian

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Etymology

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From Dutch sofa, from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, a long seat made of stone or brick).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈsofa/
  • Hyphenation: so‧fa

Noun

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sofa (first-person possessive sofaku, second-person possessive sofamu, third-person possessive sofanya)

  1. sofa: an upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Interlingua

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Noun

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sofa (plural sofas)

  1. (item of furniture) sofa

Jamaican Creole

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Etymology

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Derived from English suffer.

Verb

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sofa

  1. to suffer, to be troubled, to be distressed
    • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 2 Korintiyan 1:6:
      So ef wi sofa, wi a sofa kaaz wi waahn fi elp unu an wi waahn unu fi kip chrang. An ef wi get elp, unu wuda a get elp tu. Kaaz unu wi nuo se wen unu a sofa laik wi, fi unu elp wi kom. An dat wi mek unu gwaan kip chrang wen chobl tek unu.
      If we are in distress, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are being comforted, it is for your comfort, which results in you patiently bearing the same sufferings that we suffer.

Derived terms

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Japanese

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Romanization

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sofa

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ソファ

Lithuanian

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juodoji sofa prie sienos

Etymology

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Borrowed from French sofa or Italian sofà, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, a long seat made of stone or brick). Compare Russian софа́ (sofá).

Noun

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sofà f (plural sòfos) stress pattern 2

  1. sofa, couch

Declension

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References

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  • sofa”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2024
  • sofa”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2024

Norman

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English sofa.

Noun

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sofa m (plural sofas)

  1. (Jersey, Guernsey) sofa

Synonyms

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Noun

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sofa m (definite singular sofaen, indefinite plural sofaer, definite plural sofaene)

  1. sofa, couch

References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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sofa m (definite singular sofaen, indefinite plural sofaer or sofaar, definite plural sofaene or sofaane)

  1. a sofa or couch

References

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Old Norse

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *swefaną.

Verb

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sofa (singular present indicative sefr or søfr, singular past indicative svaf, plural past indicative sváfu or sófu, past participle sofinn)

  1. to sleep

Conjugation

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Descendants

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References

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  • sofa”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Polish

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Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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Borrowed from French sofa, from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, a long seat made of stone or brick), from Aramaic צפא (ṣipā’, mat).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sofa f (diminutive sofka)

  1. sofa, couch

Declension

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Further reading

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  • sofa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • sofa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish [script needed] (sofa), from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, a long seat made of stone or brick), from Aramaic צפא (ṣipā’, mat).

Noun

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sofa f (plural sofale)

  1. sofa

Declension

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Serbo-Croatian

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Noun

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sòfa f (Cyrillic spelling со̀фа)

  1. (Serbia) sofa

Declension

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See also

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Swahili

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English sofa.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sofa (n class, plural sofa)

  1. sofa

Turkish

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Etymology

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Inherited from Ottoman Turkish صفه (ṣuffa, ṣofa, a porch or hall with benches, a recess in a hall or ante-room),[1] from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, bench, sofa, vestibule).[2]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /soˈfa/
  • Hyphenation: so‧fa

Noun

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sofa (definite accusative sofayı, plural sofalar)

  1. An area in the house where all rooms open into; hall, hallway.
    Synonyms: hol, salon

Declension

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Inflection
Nominative sofa
Definite accusative sofayı
Singular Plural
Nominative sofa sofalar
Definite accusative sofayı sofaları
Dative sofaya sofalara
Locative sofada sofalarda
Ablative sofadan sofalardan
Genitive sofanın sofaların
Possessive forms
Nominative
Singular Plural
1st singular sofam sofalarım
2nd singular sofan sofaların
3rd singular sofası sofaları
1st plural sofamız sofalarımız
2nd plural sofanız sofalarınız
3rd plural sofaları sofaları
Definite accusative
Singular Plural
1st singular sofamı sofalarımı
2nd singular sofanı sofalarını
3rd singular sofasını sofalarını
1st plural sofamızı sofalarımızı
2nd plural sofanızı sofalarınızı
3rd plural sofalarını sofalarını
Dative
Singular Plural
1st singular sofama sofalarıma
2nd singular sofana sofalarına
3rd singular sofasına sofalarına
1st plural sofamıza sofalarımıza
2nd plural sofanıza sofalarınıza
3rd plural sofalarına sofalarına
Locative
Singular Plural
1st singular sofamda sofalarımda
2nd singular sofanda sofalarında
3rd singular sofasında sofalarında
1st plural sofamızda sofalarımızda
2nd plural sofanızda sofalarınızda
3rd plural sofalarında sofalarında
Ablative
Singular Plural
1st singular sofamdan sofalarımdan
2nd singular sofandan sofalarından
3rd singular sofasından sofalarından
1st plural sofamızdan sofalarımızdan
2nd plural sofanızdan sofalarınızdan
3rd plural sofalarından sofalarından
Genitive
Singular Plural
1st singular sofamın sofalarımın
2nd singular sofanın sofalarının
3rd singular sofasının sofalarının
1st plural sofamızın sofalarımızın
2nd plural sofanızın sofalarınızın
3rd plural sofalarının sofalarının

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Redhouse, James W. (1890) “صفه”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon[1], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1179
  2. ^ Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “sofa”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

Further reading

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Veps

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Russian софа́ (sofá).

Noun

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sofa

  1. sofa

Inflection

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Inflection of sofa (inflection type 6/kuva)
nominative sing. sofa
genitive sing. sofan
partitive sing. sofad
partitive plur. sofid
singular plural
nominative sofa sofad
accusative sofan sofad
genitive sofan sofiden
partitive sofad sofid
essive-instructive sofan sofin
translative sofaks sofikš
inessive sofas sofiš
elative sofaspäi sofišpäi
illative sofaha
sofha
sofihe
adessive sofal sofil
ablative sofalpäi sofilpäi
allative sofale sofile
abessive sofata sofita
comitative sofanke sofidenke
prolative sofadme sofidme
approximative I sofanno sofidenno
approximative II sofannoks sofidennoks
egressive sofannopäi sofidennopäi
terminative I sofahasai
sofhasai
sofihesai
terminative II sofalesai sofilesai
terminative III sofassai
additive I sofahapäi
sofhapäi
sofihepäi
additive II sofalepäi sofilepäi

References

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  • Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “тахта”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎[2], Petrozavodsk: Periodika