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Glite Dictionary
palliasse

palliasse

9.9
A thin mattress filled with straw used as a simple bed
  • noun
  • /ˈpæl.i.æs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : palliasse
  • He spread the blanket over the palliasse to make the bed more comfortable.

Examples

  • In the room were one wooden chair, a palliasse, and one small oil-papered window.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The doctor was on the floor beside the palliasse, bunched on his knees and knuckles, gasping and trembling.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Kneeling beside the palliasse, he crossed himself and said the Our Father once hurriedly.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The woman hooked her hands into the waistband of his breeches and sat down backward on the palliasse, drawing him down after her.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • After a long day, he finally laid down on the palliasse to rest.

  • The children slept soundly on the simple palliasse in the corner of the room.

Synonyms

mattress
vspalliasse
277 1.0

A thick, soft pad put on a bed for sleeping

is a narrow thin straw sleeping pad, not a thick sprung bed component
pallet
vspalliasse
  • Archaic
6 8.1

A thin bed made of straw or folded quilts placed on the floor

is narrower and specifically thin straw stuffing rather than quilted pads
paillasse
vspalliasse
  • Archaic
9.9

A simple thin mattress filled with straw or sawdust for sleeping

is a narrow simple bed used generally rather than only in rustic settings
bedtick
vspalliasse
  • Archaic
9.6

A mattress filled with straw or feathers for sleeping

is a thin straw mattress rather than a larger cloth bag or feather fill

How Comfortable

mattress
277 1.0
palliasse
  • Archaic
9.9
mat
136 1.0

Surface Forms

palliasse singular
palliasse plural

Etymology

Palliasse comes from the French word paille, which means 'straw', because people once filled a simple mattress with straw. So a palliasse today still means a thin, simple mattress stuffed with straw or similar material.