A long low sofa without back or arms, often placed against a wall and used for seating or reclining. It can also refer to a council chamber or court of justice in some Middle Eastern countries.
From Turkish divan, which came from Persian دیوان (dīvān), originally meaning 'council' or 'court'. The Persian word derived from Middle Persian, possibly from an ancient Iranian root meaning 'to write'. The furniture meaning developed from the council chamber where officials sat on long cushioned benches. The word entered English in the 16th century through Turkish and French.
The word 'divan' started as a government office where scribes kept records, then became the furniture they sat on, and finally just meant any long couch! This semantic journey from 'bureaucracy' to 'furniture' shows how words can completely flip their meaning while keeping the same form - your living room divan was once a tax office.
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