Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Cushion?

\Cush"ion\ (k??sh"?n), n. [OE. cuischun, quisshen, OF. coissin, cuissin, F. coussin, fr. (assumed) LL. culcitinum, dim. of L. culcita cushion, mattress, pillow. See {Quilt}, and cf. {Counterpoint} a {coverlet}.] 1. A case or bag stuffed with some soft and elastic material, and used to sit or recline upon; a soft pillow or pad. Two cushions stuffed with straw, the seat to raise. --Dryden. 2. Anything resembling a cushion in properties or use; as: (a) a pad on which gilders cut gold leaf; (b) a mass of steam in the end of the cylinder of a steam engine to receive the impact of the piston; (c) the elastic edge of a billiard table. 3. A riotous kind of dance, formerly common at weddings; -- called also {cushion dance}. --Halliwell. {Cushion capital}.(Arch.) A capital so sculptured as to appear like a cushion pressed down by the weight of its entablature. (b) A name given to a form of capital, much used in the Romanesque style, modeled like a bowl, the upper part of which is cut away on four sides, leaving vertical faces. {Cushion star} (Zo["o]l.) a pentagonal starfish belonging to {Goniaster}, {Astrogonium}, and other allied genera; -- so called from its form.
\Cush"ion\ (k??sh"?n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cushioned} (-?nd); p. pr. & vb. {Cushioning}.] 1. To seat or place on, or as on a cushion. Many who are cushioned on thrones would have remained in obscurity. --Bolingbroke. 2. To furnish with cushions; as, to cushion a chaise. 3. To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion. {Cushioned hammer}, a dead-stroke hammer. See under {Dead-stroke}.