The word settee or setee 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 small upholstered seating structures. Other terms which can be synonymous with the above definition are divan, davenport, lounge, and canapé.
Although invented prior to this time, couches became very popular in the Victorian era when they were referred to as a “fainting couch.” Couches during the Victorian period were usually armless and most often used by women wearing corsets who needed a resting place to catch their breath.
Davenport, the Sofa
The use of the term "davenport" for a large upholstered sofa began around 1900 when the Cambridge, Massachusetts, furniture manufacturer A.H. Davenport Co. created a boxy sofa, now iconic. The term can also mean a sleeper sofa.
The divan in the sense of a sofa or couch entered the English language in 1702 and has been commonly known in Europe since about the middle of the 18th century.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a settee as “perhaps a fanciful variation of a settle”, which historically is a bench made of Oak from the Middle Ages, and is technically where the word comes from; ie.
Sofa is more common in Britain, while couch is preferred in North America, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
In Australia, the term "couch" is commonly used to refer to a long, upholstered seat designed for two or more people to sit on. However, some Australians may also use the term "sofa" or "lounge" interchangeably with "couch".
A small couch is called a settee. They're common in living rooms and other shared areas because they allow you to cozy up to someone and have a conversation with them. Settees are typically small seats that can fit two or more people.
Couch, Cowch, n. Also: chuch, couche, coutch(e, cowtch.
A davenport sofa, which was a large upholstered sofa that often converted into a bed, was a furniture piece found in some 1920s living rooms.
When designers, manufacturers, and customers speak about retro furniture, they are often referring to a style of furniture that pays homage to styles that were popular years ago. Namely, retro furniture was popular in the decades of 1950s, 1960s, 1970s.
For the British, it is a sofa or setee (I'm going to say setee is less formal, because that's the term we used in my family. We're not posh). For Americans, Irish, Australians, and South Africans it is a couch.
settee, also called sofa, an upholstered seat with back and arms (sometimes upholstered), designed to accommodate two or more people in a sitting or reclining position. The earliest surviving types, dating back to the 17th century in Europe, have sides that let down for conversion into a bed.
A couch is called a "sofa" or a "couch" in Canada. Usually a couch.
The name likely came from the french word coucher, meaning to sleep. The word couch is still widely used across the USA to describe a sofa.
6. What do you commonly call the two or three-seater furniture found in the living room? North-east: settee. Nationally: sofa.
Q: The terms “ottoman,” “divan,” “settee,” and “sofa” seem to have been used in Victorian England.
A chaise, or chaise lounge, is an upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to prop one's legs up on. Chaise is a modern French interior design term that refers to any long, reclining chair and the English translation for the term is “long chair.”
Furniture that is at least 100 years old is classified as “ANTIQUE”.
Mid-century modern (MCM) is a design movement in interior, product, graphic design, architecture, and urban development that was popular in the United States and Europe from roughly 1945 to 1969, during the United States's post–World War II period.
Antique: A piece of furniture or object that is more than 100 years old.
While every tale of a well-known item is rife with misinformation, it is believed that the sofa, which was once more commonly known as a chesterfield, came into its original form in the 18th century.