Plural of divan; long upholstered seats or sofas, often without a back or arms, traditionally used in Middle Eastern cultures.
From Turkish 'divan' or Persian 'dīwān', which originally referred to a collection of poems or a royal council room, later applied to the furniture found in such spaces.
The divan's journey from 'council chamber' to 'couch' shows how furniture names travel with empires—Ottoman traders brought these cushioned benches to Europe, where wealthy families adopted them as luxury status symbols.
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