futon

Meaning

1. A thin mattress of tufted cotton or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame as a bed.
2. A round cushion used for Zen meditation, traditionally made of woven bulrush leaves.
3. A specific kind of sofa-bed, with a fixed cushion that forms a mattress when folded down and a sofa when folded up.

Synonyms

bed

🛏️

bedding

charpoy

pallet

sofa-bed

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfuːtɒn/

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 布団 (futon), in turn from Middle Chinese 蒲團 (MC bu dwan, “meditation cushion”) (compare Mandarin 蒲团 (pútuán)), from 蒲 (buo, “bulrush, cattail”) + 團 (duɑn, “sphere, round object”) from the way the original cushion was round and made from woven bulrushes.