upholstery

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the padded covering of furniture, including its fabric, springs, webbing, and stuffing

   The chair's faded upholstery was replaced with durable green velvet.

2. 2
   noun

   the craft or business of fitting furniture with padded coverings

   She learned upholstery so that she could restore antique sofas.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Upholstery derives from the occupational term upholster, an alteration of Middle English upholder, a maker, repairer, or dealer in clothes, furniture, and small goods. Upholder came from uphold in the sense “maintain in good repair,” and upholstery arose in the mid-17th century for the furniture-covering work done by such tradespeople.

From upholster + -y, recorded at the end of the sixteenth century. Upholster developed from Middle English upholdester, originally a dealer in household goods, bedding, and furnishings; the occupation narrowed to fitting furniture with fabric and padding, and upholstery named both the work and its materials.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary