# Ottoman Empire & the ottoman **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279 "2001-11-08T21:25:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/1 "2001-11-08T21:25:49Z")
Ok, since I posed the Turkey thread earlier, it’s only fitting I follow-up with this burning question: Is there any relationship between the ottoman (foot rest) and the Ottoman Empire? Maybe they sat around all day on their duffs, with their feet up on their ottomans, and thus leading to the fall of the Ottoman Empire? 😃 - Jinx Say, if you smoke in a smoking jacket, what do you do in a windbreaker? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/2 "2001-11-08T21:51:15Z")
Merriam Websters says: Main Entry: ot·to·man Pronunciation: 'ä-t&-m&n Function: noun Date: 1605 1 capitalized a : a member of a Turkish dynasty founded by Osman I that ruled the Ottoman Empire b : a citizen or functionary of the Ottoman Empire 2 [French ottomane, from feminine of ottoman, adjective] a : an upholstered often overstuffed seat or couch usually without a back b : an overstuffed footstool 3 : a heavy clothing fabric characterized by pronounced crosswise ribs Not very helpful but at least a step along the path of knowledge on this crucial question ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/3 "2001-11-08T22:14:27Z")
The _Collins English Dictionary_ gives Ottoman (as in the Empire) as \*C17: from French, via Medieval Latin, from Arabic \*Othmani _Turkish, from Turkish Othman Osman I_. Same century, same language. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/4 "2001-11-08T22:18:10Z")
i have never heard of a footstool refered to as an ottoman before ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/5 "2001-11-09T01:19:20Z")
From the [_Britannica_](http://www.britannica.com): > [@](#): > > ottoman – deeply upholstered seat of any shape, with or without a back, introduced into Europe in the late 18th century from Turkey… ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/6 "2001-11-09T01:55:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\*i have never heard of a footstool refered to as an ottoman before \*\* Really? I’ve always called it an ottoman. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/7 "2001-11-09T01:59:10Z")
In thinking it over, my above post sounds very “smart ass” like. I just wanted to say that is not how I meant it to sound. ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2001, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ottoman-empire-the-ottoman/92279/8 "2001-11-09T04:26:49Z")
Let me be the first to insert the obligatory **Dead Milkmen** reference.