Many words are regional, such as pop, soda, or coke. How many words are generational?
As I was playing Scrabulous today, a random word from my childhood popped into my brain: davenport. My family has always called the large, comfy piece of furniture capable of seating several people in the living room a couch. Occasionally, a nicer version might be called a sofa. One that seats only two would be a loveseat. But whenever we went over to our grandparents' house, grandma would say, "Why don't you just sit down on the davenport and I'll get you some lemonade."
It's been years since I've heard this word, and I'm wondering if it has faded out of use as the brand of couches giving it its name disappeared, or as the people used to using this vocabulary item have passed away. According to dictinary.com, the davenport was particularly a couch which would pull out into a bed. Or as we say now, a pull-out couch or a couch-bed. Have these also gone the way of the hand crank meat grinder, taking their old name with them?
In a fit of nostalgia, I think I might try to revive this word. I'd like to see how many people I can confuse when I say, "Oh, just have a seat on the davenport and I'll grab us some beers."
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2 comments:
Mr. Davenport, inventor of the Davenport sofa-bed lived in my home town. His house has become "The Davenport Estate" it's right next to our Public Library.
The curator really doesn't like punk kids climbing on the trees.
-t
I've also heard it called a hide-a-bed.
Anyway, at RedEye, one of me teammates was talking about tattoos she bought, and i asked what kind, and she said, "dagger." But she pronounced it "day-ger." And some of her Wisconsin friends pronounced it the same. Argument ensued.
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