# Sofas, couches, davenports...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 24, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943 "2004-09-24T21:16:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943/1 "2004-09-24T21:16:44Z")

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Are there technical differences between a **sofa** a **couch** and a **davenport**? Or are these merely regional/cultural names for the same thing? I grew up saying “couch”, though I’ve gravitated toward “sofa” in recent years. I’ve only ever heard a few people say “davenport”.

I suppose I could ask the same question about “bureau” vs “dresser” vs “chest of drawers”.

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**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943/2 "2004-09-24T21:23:47Z")

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Well, technically, a davenport is a small writing desk:

[http://www.bernardisantiques.com/furniture/davenport.jpg](http://www.bernardisantiques.com/furniture/davenport.jpg)  
But when my grandmother, who was born in Ontario, said “davenport,” she meant “couch.”

i

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**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943/3 "2004-09-24T21:31:20Z")

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> [@cher3](#):
>
> Well, technically, a davenport is a small writing desk:
> 
> [http://www.bernardisantiques.com/furniture/davenport.jpg](http://www.bernardisantiques.com/furniture/davenport.jpg)  
> But when my grandmother, who was born in Ontario, said “davenport,” she meant “couch.”
> 
> i

Wasn’t Davenport a furniture manufacturer best known for their desks. Then later for their sofas, especially the ones that converted into beds?

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943/4 "2004-09-24T22:34:54Z")

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[Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) suggests the following:

**Davenport** : a large sofa, often convertible into a bed. (A writing desk is a second meaning.)

**Divan** : A long backless sofa, especially one set with pillows against a wall. (I grew up referring to one of these as a **daybed**.) (There are also three other definitions having nothing to do with sofahood.)

**Sofa** : A long upholstered seat, typically with back and arms.

**Chesterfield** : [After a long discourse about the Earls of Chesterfield and their tastes, the following note occurs]

> [@](#):
>
> Regional Note: Chesterfield, a term for a sofa, especially a large one with upholstered arms, was probably brought down from Canada, where it is common. In the United States, it was largely limited to the trade region of San Francisco in northern California. According to Craig M. Carver in American Regional Dialects, the word probably comes from the name of a 19th-century earl of Chesterfield and originally referred “specifically to a couch with upright armrests at either end.” It appears to have come into use in Canada around 1903 and in northern California at about the same time.

**Couch** : A sofa. (A note indicates that it is the term of choice in reference to the object used for reclining while undergoing psychotherapy.)

**Loveseat** : A small sofa or chair that seats two people.

So the terms appear to be synonymous, with several having specific connotations.

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**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sofas-couches-davenports/265943/5 "2004-09-24T22:38:04Z")

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In the UK we also use the term “settee” to mean sofa / couch.