counterpane

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a decorative cover spread over the top of a bed; a bedspread

   The sleeping child's breathing made the white counterpane rise and fall.

An alteration of Middle English countrepointe, from Middle French coute pointe, literally "stitched or embroidered quilt." The spelling was reshaped because English speakers associated its parts with the familiar words counter and pane, although neither belongs to its true origin.

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