Where does “sofa” come from?
sofa (French) comes from Italian sofà, from Ottoman Turkish sofa, from Arabic صُفَّة, from Aramaic צפא — mat.
sofa (French): couch; sofa
Ancestry of “sofa”, step by step
sofa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Italian sofà
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Italian | sofà | sofa, chesterfield |
| 2 | Ottoman Turkish | sofa | — |
| 3 | Arabic | صُفَّة | a long seat made of stone or brick; sofa, long... |
| 4 | Aramaic | צפא | mat |
via Turkish sofa
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Turkish | sofa | An area in the house where all rooms open into; hall, hallway |
| 2 | Ottoman Turkish | صفه | porch or hall with benches on which to rest |
Words derived from “sofa”