Cushion
Cushion (k??sh"?n) , noun
[Old English cuischun, quisshen, Old French coissin, cuissin, French coussin, from (assumed) Late Latin culcitinum, dim. of Latin culcita cushion, mattress, pillow. See Quilt, and compare Counterpoint a coverlet.]
1.
A case or bag stuffed with some soft and elastic material, and used to sit or recline upon; a soft pillow or pad.
Two cushions stuffed with straw, the seat to raise.
2.
Anything resembling a cushion in properties or use
(a)
a pad on which gilders cut gold leaf
(b)
a mass of steam in the end of the cylinder of a steam engine to receive the impact of the piston
(c)
the elastic edge of a billiard table.
3.
A riotous kind of dance, formerly common at weddings; -- called also cushion dance. — Halliwell
Collocations (2)
Cushion capital (Architecture) , A capital so sculptured as to appear like a cushion pressed down by the weight of its entablature. (b) A name given to a form of capital, much used in the Romanesque style, modeled like a bowl, the upper part of which is cut away on four sides, leaving vertical faces.
Cushion star (Zoology) , a pentagonal starfish belonging to Goniaster, Astrogonium, and other allied genera; -- so called from its form.
Cushion (kosh"un) , transitive verb
1.
To seat or place on, or as on a cushion.
Many who are cushioned on thrones would have remained in obscurity.
2.
To furnish with cushions; as, to cushion a chaise.
3.
To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion.
Collocations (1)
Cushioned hammer , a dead-stroke hammer. See under Dead-stroke.