What does davenport mean?
A davenport is a word with two quite different meanings on either side of the Atlantic. In American English, particularly among speakers in New England and the Midwest, it denotes a large sofa, sometimes one that folds out into a bed; many families grew up napping or sleeping overnight guests on 'the davenport'. In British English, a davenport is instead a compact writing desk with a sloping top and drawers, a piece of furniture popular in the Victorian era and encountered today mainly in antique shops and period dramas. Both senses derive from the surname Davenport, attached to the makers who produced these items in the nineteenth century. Because the sofa sense is concentrated regionally and skews generational, using it can lend speech a homey, slightly retro quality, while younger or non-regional American listeners may find the term quaint or puzzling. Elsewhere, 'sofa' and 'couch' remain the neutral choices, and the desk sense is best reserved for discussions of antique furniture.
A large sofa, often one designed to convert into a bed.
"We pulled out the davenport so the cousins would have somewhere to sleep."
Regional to the northern United States, especially New England and the Midwest; increasingly dated.
A small writing desk with drawers and a hinged, sloping top.
"The auction catalogue listed a walnut davenport dating from about 1860."
Chiefly British; familiar mainly in the context of antique furniture.
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple sofas or desks.
"The showroom displayed half a dozen davenports in various fabrics."
The word for your grandmother's sofa is actually someone's last name — a 19th-century furniture maker whose name became so common in New England that 'davenport' still means couch there today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of davenport
Davenport is an eponym, formed from the surname of a nineteenth-century furniture manufacturer associated with both convertible sofas and small writing desks. The desk sense arose first in Britain, where the compact, sloped-top writing furniture was popular through the Victorian era. In the United States, the name became attached to large sofas, and the usage took firm root in New England and the Upper Midwest even as 'couch' and 'sofa' spread everywhere else. Like chesterfield, wellington, and cardigan, it belongs to the family of English words coined from people's names.
How davenport is actually used
The sofa sense is strongly associated with older speakers in New England and the Midwest; elsewhere Americans say 'couch' or 'sofa'. It can carry a slightly old-fashioned or nostalgic flavor. The desk sense survives mainly in descriptions of Victorian antiques and is unfamiliar to most Americans.
Easily confused with davenport
A Chesterfield is specifically a deep-buttoned sofa with rolled arms, whereas a davenport is any large sofa or convertible couch (or, in Britain, a writing desk).