Are there "speed traps" in Germany?
My father's mother referred to what I would call a "sofa" or "couch" as a "davenport". I don't hear that term these days. According to this web site (http://furniture.about.com/od/furnitureglossary/g/Davenport.htm) the name comes from the name of the company which manufactured a popular line of furniture, particularly this sort of multi-person seating item.
Here's what Wiki has to say about it:
The term couch is used in North America and Australia, whilst the term sofa is generally used in the United Kingdom. The word originated in Middle English from the Old French noun couche, which derived from the verb meaning "to lie down". It originally denoted an item of furniture for lying or sleeping on, somewhat like a chaise longue, but now refers to sofas in general.
Other terms which can be synonymous with the above definition are settee, chesterfield, divan, davenport, lounge, and canapé. The word sofa is from Turkish derived from the Arabic word suffa for "wool", originating in the Aramaic word sippa for "mat". The word settee comes from the Old English word, "setl", which was used to describe long benches with high backs and arms, but is now generally used to describe upholstered seating.
Just to add further confusion, the word settee still has much currency in the UK, although used far less, most know what it is. And for what it's worth, I don't have any individual armchairs, just two settees, one two seater, the other seats three.
Got any research on "divan"? I used to hear that used every now and then, but I can't recall when I last did.
"Aspirin" and "Heroin" both were trademarks that became genericized, and which are both with us yet today.
Prestone for all radiator fluids. A lot of people still say Reynolds Wrap. All small planes used to be Piper Cubs, now it's Cessna's. Lear for business jets, though Gulfstream may be taking over?I recall long-since deceased folks call all refrigerators "Frigidaires" (when they weren't calling them "ice boxes").
When microwave ovens first found their way into working-class kitchens those then-still-surviving old-timers commonly called them "Radar Ranges."
Few brand names stand in for all products of their kind anymore. "Kleenex" still does, kind of.
"Aspirin" and "Heroin" both were trademarks that became genericized, and which are both with us yet today.
Which points to why trademark holders aggressively defend them. If you have a history of allowing "minor" infringements, it is much more difficult to prevail when going after subsequent infringements. So Starbucks has its lawyers fire off cease and desist letters to little one-shop operations who come up with some cutesy allusion to the coffee giant in their names and/or logos. The big bad giant might come across as a meanie in press accounts of such actions, but the courts have really given them little choice.
"Aspirin" and "Heroin" both were trademarks that became genericized, and which are both with us yet today.
"Aspirin" and "Heroin" both were trademarks that became genericized, and which are both with us yet today.
Kerosene
Escalator
Dry ice
Zipper
Bubble wrap
Still quite a few out there.