Wiktionary

sofa

See also: SOFA, Sofa, sofá, sofà, sófa, and sofā

English

edit

Etymology 1

edit
 sofa on Wikipedia

Borrowed from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick, covered with rich carpets and cushions and used for sitting”). Cognate with Aramaic צפא/Classical Syriac ܨܦܬܐ (ṣipā’, ṣeppəṯā, “mat, matting”). The word may have entered European languages via Muslim Iberia or through Turkish.

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
 
A firm sofa
 
A soft sofa
 
A modern-style sofa

Alternative forms

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

sofa (plural sofas)

  1. (Middle East architecture, archaic) A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
  2. (furniture) An upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.
    Synonyms: couch, lounge, divan, settee
    • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 228:
      His eyes trailed over her feline pose on the sofa, finding her limbs adorable while he tried exasperatedly to extract the truth of licentious revelations from them.
Derived terms
edit
Descendants
edit
Translations
edit
See also
edit

Verb

edit

sofa (third-person singular simple present sofas, present participle sofaing, simple past and past participle sofaed)

  1. To furnish with one or more sofas.
    • 1852, Charles Astor Bristed, Five years in an English university, page 14:
      The appearance of a student's apartment, though by no means splendid, is decidedly comfortable ; it is well cushioned and sofaed, with a proper proportion of arm chairs, and a general air of respectability — much better on the whole than our student's rooms ever are.
    • 1890, Stanley Lane-Poole, The Life of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe - Volume 1, page 100:
      First, it will surprize you to learn that instead of the venerable simplicity which reigns in St. Stephen's chapel, the H. of Representatives, besides being stoved, carpeted, desked, and sofaed in the most luxurious style, rivals and indeed surpasses the Legislature of Paris in decoration and drapery.
    • 1893, Henry Swinglehurst, Silver Mines and Incidents of Travel, page 97:
      I and another therefore entirely occupied our stateroom, which was sofaed round, being just large enough for two to lie down and a third to sit with his feet up and his head on his knees.
    • 1981, David A. Kaufelt, The Wine and the Music, page 331:
      It was a lavish, fully draped, fully sofaed, fully radiator-covered nineteenth-century deluxe German hotel suite.
  2. To seat or lay down on a sofa.
    • 1895, Denver Medical Times - Volume 5, page 191:
      Cliques of three or more are formed, each member of which goes in search of victims, and the first female found complaining of pain in the lower part of her back, is immediately run down, corralled, cornered, so to speak, and sans ceremonie she is at once tabled, sofaed or beded, or in the absence of these relics of refinement she is floored or she may have to submit standing (especially if the doctor is in a hury and meets her at the gate or corner drug store) with an unerring plunge, of a not overly clean index finger, the darksome cavern is penetrated and perhaps, not, a cervix is touched and reveals, of course, a lacerated cervix, just as had been predicted.
    • 1880 October 22, Benjamin Disraeli, chapter XVI, in George Earle Buckle, editor, The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, volume VI: 1876–1881, published 1929, Hughenden Manor; To Lady Bradford, page 592:
      A few, feeble words—my first—to tell you I have left my room this morning and am shaven and shorn and dressed and sofaed in my writing room, after a terrible ten days or more.
    • 2006, Kim Akass, Janet McCabe, Reading 'Desperate Housewives': Beyond the White Picket Fence:
      Many a time back in my boozing days when I was sofaed too.

References

edit
  • "sofa, n.", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Etymology 2

edit
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Noun

edit

sofa (plural sofas)

  1. (historical) A slave soldier who served in the army of the Mali Empire.
    • 2006, Magbaily C. Fyle, Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone, page xx:
      1884 Sofas conquer northern Sierra Leone. The sofas were soldiers of Mandinka empire builder, Samori Turay. Falaba, capital of Solima Yalunka kingdom, destroyed in the process.

Anagrams

edit

Danish

edit
 
Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Noun

edit

sofa c (singular definite sofaen, plural indefinite sofaer)

  1. sofa, couch, divan, settee

Inflection

edit
Declension of sofa
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative sofa sofaen sofaer sofaerne
genitive sofas sofaens sofaers sofaernes

Dutch

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from French sofa, perhaps via Turkish sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa).

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈsoː.faː/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: so‧fa

Noun

edit

sofa m (plural sofa's, diminutive sofaatje n)

  1. (chiefly Belgium) a couch, a sofa
    Synonyms: bank, zitbank

French

edit
 
sofa

Etymology

edit

    Ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick”), from Aramaic צפא (ṣipā’, “mat”)/Classical Syriac ܨܦܬܐ. The word may have entered French via Turkish sofa.

    Note casually that Arabic itself uses كَنَبة (kanaba) for “sofa”, from French canapé.

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    sofa m (plural sofas)

    1. couch; sofa
      Synonym: canapé

    Descendants

    edit

    Further reading

    edit

    Icelandic

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    From Old Norse sofa, from Proto-Germanic *swefaną.

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Verb

    edit

    sofa (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative svaf, third-person plural past indicative sváfum, supine sofið)

    1. (intransitive) to sleep
      Ekki vekja hana, hún er sofandi.
      Don't wake her up, she's sleeping.

    Conjugation

    edit

    This verb needs an inflection-table template.

    Derived terms

    edit
    edit

    Indonesian

    edit
     
    Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia id

    Etymology

    edit

    From Dutch sofa, from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick”).

    Pronunciation

    edit
    • IPA(key): /ˈsofa/
    • Hyphenation: so‧fa

    Noun

    edit

    sofa (first-person possessive sofaku, second-person possessive sofamu, third-person possessive sofanya)

    1. sofa: an upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.

    Derived terms

    edit

    Further reading

    edit

    Interlingua

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    sofa (plural sofas)

    1. (item of furniture) sofa

    Jamaican Creole

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Derived from English suffer.

    Verb

    edit

    sofa

    1. to suffer, to be troubled, to be distressed
      • 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, 2 Korintiyan 1:6:
        So ef wi sofa, wi a sofa kaaz wi waahn fi elp unu an wi waahn unu fi kip chrang. An ef wi get elp, unu wuda a get elp tu. Kaaz unu wi nuo se wen unu a sofa laik wi, fi unu elp wi kom. An dat wi mek unu gwaan kip chrang wen chobl tek unu.
        If we are in distress, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are being comforted, it is for your comfort, which results in you patiently bearing the same sufferings that we suffer.

    Derived terms

    edit

    Japanese

    edit

    Romanization

    edit

    sofa

    1. Rōmaji transcription of ソファ

    Lithuanian

    edit
     
    juodoji sofa prie sienos

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from French sofa or Italian sofà, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick”). Compare Russian софа́ (sofá).

    Noun

    edit

    sofà f (plural sòfos) stress pattern 2

    1. sofa, couch

    Declension

    edit
    Declension of sofà
    singular (vienaskaita) plural (daugiskaita)
    nominative (vardininkas) sofà sòfos
    genitive (kilmininkas) sòfos sòfų
    dative (naudininkas) sòfai sòfoms
    accusative (galininkas) sòfą sofàs
    instrumental (įnagininkas) sofà sòfomis
    locative (vietininkas) sòfoje sòfose
    vocative (šauksmininkas) sòfa sòfos

    References

    edit
    • “sofa”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2024
    • “sofa”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2024

    Norman

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from English sofa.

    Noun

    edit

    sofa m (plural sofas)

    1. (Jersey, Guernsey) sofa

    Synonyms

    edit

    Norwegian Bokmål

    edit
     
    Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia nb

    Noun

    edit

    sofa m (definite singular sofaen, indefinite plural sofaer, definite plural sofaene)

    1. sofa, couch

    References

    edit

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    edit
     
    Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia nn

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    sofa m (definite singular sofaen, indefinite plural sofaer or sofaar, definite plural sofaene or sofaane)

    1. a sofa or couch

    References

    edit

    Old Norse

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    From Proto-Germanic *swefaną.

    Verb

    edit

    sofa (singular present indicative sefr or søfr, singular past indicative svaf, plural past indicative sváfu or sófu, past participle sofinn)

    1. to sleep

    Conjugation

    edit
    Conjugation of sofa — active (irregular, strong class 4)
    infinitive sofa
    present participle sofandi
    past participle sofinn
    indicative present past
    1st-person singular sef, søf svaf
    2nd-person singular sefr, søfr svaft
    3rd-person singular sefr, søfr svaf
    1st-person plural sofum sófum, sváfum
    2nd-person plural sofið sófuð, sváfuð
    3rd-person plural sofa sófu, sváfu
    subjunctive present past
    1st-person singular sofa sœfa, svæfa
    2nd-person singular sofir sœfir, svæfir
    3rd-person singular sofi sœfi, svæfi
    1st-person plural sofim sœfim, svæfim
    2nd-person plural sofið sœfið, svæfið
    3rd-person plural sofi sœfi, svæfi
    imperative present
    2nd-person singular sof
    1st-person plural sofum
    2nd-person plural sofið
    edit

    Descendants

    edit

    References

    edit
    • “sofa”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

    Polish

    edit
     
    Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia pl

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from French sofa, from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick”), from Aramaic צפא (ṣipā’, “mat”).

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    sofa f (diminutive sofka)

    1. sofa, couch

    Declension

    edit
    Declension of sofa
    singular plural
    nominative sofa sofy
    genitive sofy sof
    dative sofie sofom
    accusative sofę sofy
    instrumental sofą sofami
    locative sofie sofach
    vocative sofo sofy

    Further reading

    edit
    • sofa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • sofa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

    Romanian

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish [script needed] (sofa), from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick”), from Aramaic צפא (ṣipā’, “mat”).

    Noun

    edit

    sofa f (plural sofale)

    1. sofa

    Declension

    edit
    singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative-accusative sofa sofaua sofale sofalele
    genitive-dative sofale sofalei sofale sofalelor
    vocative sofa sofalelor

    Serbo-Croatian

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    sòfa f (Cyrillic spelling со̀фа)

    1. (Serbia) sofa

    Declension

    edit
    Declension of sofa
    singular plural
    nominative sofa sofe
    genitive sofe sofa
    dative sofi sofama
    accusative sofu sofe
    vocative sofo sofe
    locative sofi sofama
    instrumental sofom sofama

    See also

    edit

    Swahili

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from English sofa.

    Pronunciation

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    sofa (n class, plural sofa)

    1. sofa

    Turkish

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Inherited from Ottoman Turkish صفه (ṣuffa, ṣofa, “a porch or hall with benches, a recess in a hall or ante-room”),[1] from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “bench, sofa, vestibule”).[2]

    Pronunciation

    edit
    • IPA(key): /soˈfa/
    • Hyphenation: so‧fa

    Noun

    edit

    sofa (definite accusative sofayı, plural sofalar)

    1. An area in the house where all rooms open into; hall, hallway.
      Synonyms: hol, salon

    Declension

    edit
    Inflection
    Nominative sofa
    Definite accusative sofayı
    Singular Plural
    Nominative sofa sofalar
    Definite accusative sofayı sofaları
    Dative sofaya sofalara
    Locative sofada sofalarda
    Ablative sofadan sofalardan
    Genitive sofanın sofaların
    Possessive forms
    Nominative
    Singular Plural
    1st singular sofam sofalarım
    2nd singular sofan sofaların
    3rd singular sofası sofaları
    1st plural sofamız sofalarımız
    2nd plural sofanız sofalarınız
    3rd plural sofaları sofaları
    Definite accusative
    Singular Plural
    1st singular sofamı sofalarımı
    2nd singular sofanı sofalarını
    3rd singular sofasını sofalarını
    1st plural sofamızı sofalarımızı
    2nd plural sofanızı sofalarınızı
    3rd plural sofalarını sofalarını
    Dative
    Singular Plural
    1st singular sofama sofalarıma
    2nd singular sofana sofalarına
    3rd singular sofasına sofalarına
    1st plural sofamıza sofalarımıza
    2nd plural sofanıza sofalarınıza
    3rd plural sofalarına sofalarına
    Locative
    Singular Plural
    1st singular sofamda sofalarımda
    2nd singular sofanda sofalarında
    3rd singular sofasında sofalarında
    1st plural sofamızda sofalarımızda
    2nd plural sofanızda sofalarınızda
    3rd plural sofalarında sofalarında
    Ablative
    Singular Plural
    1st singular sofamdan sofalarımdan
    2nd singular sofandan sofalarından
    3rd singular sofasından sofalarından
    1st plural sofamızdan sofalarımızdan
    2nd plural sofanızdan sofalarınızdan
    3rd plural sofalarından sofalarından
    Genitive
    Singular Plural
    1st singular sofamın sofalarımın
    2nd singular sofanın sofalarının
    3rd singular sofasının sofalarının
    1st plural sofamızın sofalarımızın
    2nd plural sofanızın sofalarınızın
    3rd plural sofalarının sofalarının

    Derived terms

    edit
    edit

    References

    edit
    1. ^ Redhouse, James W. (1890) “صفه”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎[1], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1179
    2. ^ Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “sofa”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

    Further reading

    edit

    Veps

    edit

    Etymology

    edit

    Borrowed from Russian софа́ (sofá).

    Noun

    edit

    sofa

    1. sofa

    Inflection

    edit
    Inflection of sofa (inflection type 6/kuva)
    nominative sing. sofa
    genitive sing. sofan
    partitive sing. sofad
    partitive plur. sofid
    singular plural
    nominative sofa sofad
    accusative sofan sofad
    genitive sofan sofiden
    partitive sofad sofid
    essive-instructive sofan sofin
    translative sofaks sofikš
    inessive sofas sofiš
    elative sofaspäi sofišpäi
    illative sofaha
    sofha     		sofihe
    adessive sofal sofil
    ablative sofalpäi sofilpäi
    allative sofale sofile
    abessive sofata sofita
    comitative sofanke sofidenke
    prolative sofadme sofidme
    approximative I sofanno sofidenno
    approximative II sofannoks sofidennoks
    egressive sofannopäi sofidennopäi
    terminative I sofahasai
    sofhasai     		sofihesai
    terminative II sofalesai sofilesai
    terminative III sofassai —
    additive I sofahapäi
    sofhapäi     		sofihepäi
    additive II sofalepäi sofilepäi

    References

    edit
    • Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “тахта”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎[2], Petrozavodsk: Periodika
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=sofa&oldid=82670785"