Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A couch or day bed typically having a high curved headboard and a low or absent footboard.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An old-fashioned couch with headrest and footrest.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard Récamier, who was depicted reclining on such a couch in a portrait by Jacques Louis David.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French récamier, named after the 19th century French socialite Juliette Récamier.

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Examples

  • I can't make it simpler because I'm fatigued (says she while reclining on her recamier).

    feminist blogs in english » 2009 » August 2009

  • Jettisoning a sofa altogether, I opted instead for two custom velvet-tufted recamier chaises.

    Thom Filicia Style Thom Filicia 2008

  • She crossed to the recamier, lifted the white robe draped over its back.

    Excerpt: Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts 2001

  • When she declined, he took it into the living room, where he sat on the edge of a recamier couch and buried his face in his hands.

    The Delicate Storm Blunt, Giles 2003

  • Richardson plucked from some British stately home and put back together here-Teplica points out the invisible sights, saying, "I'm told there was a huge grandfather clock right there ... an Egyptian Revival recamier there ..."

    Chicago Reader 2010

  • Also from J.H. Belter: a rosewood laminated tall crest sofa in the Tuthill King pattern went for $34,500; a rosewood laminated recamier with fountain elms hammered for $29,900; a rosewood étagère in the Rosalie pattern (84 inches high by 60 inches wide) crossed the block at

    Antique News News! 2009

  • Some furniture, however, is designed to sweep you off your feet - and the recamier, or

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2009

  • Recognizable for its regal, sensually curved back, the recamier provides a stylish place to swoon, weep or ... watch TV.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2009

  • Recognizable for its regal, sensually curved back, the recamier provides a stylish place to swoon, weep or ... watch TV.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2009

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