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Daybed

Furnishings
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A couch designed for reclining by day and sometimes sleeping at night. It combines the functions of sofa and bed.

Detailed Definition
A daybed is a long couch that can be used for sitting, reclining, or sleeping, often placed in a drawing room, porch, sickroom, or sunlit alcove. Its double purpose makes it useful in poems about waiting, illness, idleness, or uneasy rest. A daybed may hold a sleepless child, a convalescent, or a lover listening to afternoon rain, suspended between waking life and dreams.
Example
Example in poetry:
The daybed by the window became a harbor for the feverish child; A daybed can suggest a space between waking and sleeping because it serves as both couch and bed; “On the daybed, afternoon lay curled beneath a quilt of dust”; In a poem of convalescence, the daybed may represent rest, isolation, and the slow return to ordinary life
Additional Notes
A daybed can evoke idleness, illness, dreaming, or a room’s changing purpose. It occupies a border between public seating and private sleep.
Also Known As
Day Couch Couch Bed Divan
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