Sofa Meaning
/ˈsəʊ̯fə/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
nounAn upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.
Sentence Examples
Having finished all her housework, she sat down on the sofa to watch television.
We would like to buy a sofa.
He was lying on his back on the sofa.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The family of three lounged on the large ____ in the living room.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They sat down on the comfortable leather ____ to watch a movie in their modern living room.
Word Origin & History
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”). Cognate with Aramaic צפא/Classical Syriac ܨܦܬܐ (ṣipā’, ṣeppəṯā, “mat, matting”). The word may have entered European languages via Muslim Iberia or through Turkish.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 228:
"I can make money from the comfort of my sofa / So much drive, now I gotta get a chauffeur"
— 2024, “Hot One”, in King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2, performed by Denzel Curry:
"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."
— 1852, Charles Astor Bristed, Five years in an English university, page 14:
"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."
— 1890, Stanley Lane-Poole, The Life of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe - Volume 1, page 100:
"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."
— 1893, Henry Swinglehurst, Silver Mines and Incidents of Travel, page 97:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The family of three lounged on the large ____ in the living room.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
They sat down on the comfortable leather ____ to watch a movie in their modern living room.