Tuffet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A low padded seat or cushioned footstool, often cylindrical in shape
2. A small, often rounded, cushioned seat that is typically used for sitting or as a footrest
3. A plush, low-profile stool or seat designed for comfort, usually situated close to the ground
4. A small piece of furniture designed for comfort, typically serving as a footstool or a low seat, made with padding and often found in relaxed settings

Etymology: The most memorable thing about "tuffet" is its nursery-rhyme fame. It appears in "Little Miss Muffet," where the girl sits on a tuffet eating her curds and whey, and that is the context in which most English speakers first meet it. The word itself is much older than the rhyme's printed form, and its literal sense is a tuft: a little cluster of grass, hair or similar stuff. It comes from Old French "touffel," a diminutive of "touffe," meaning "tuft." Adding the diminutive ending gives the sense of a small tuft, and from there it came to name a low, cushioned seat, presumably a clump of grass or padded mound that looked like a little tuft and served as a place to sit. The rhyme's exact meaning is uncertain. Scholars have debated whether a tuffet was a stool, a hassock, or a grassy mound, and the word's own history does not settle the question.

Synonyms: cushion, seat, ottoman