CUSHION

cushion. Cushion, [u as oo] n. a soft seat for a chair, a pillow

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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. 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. 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. 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 (Zoöl.) a pentagonal starfish belonging to Goniaster, Astrogonium, and other allied genera; — so called from its form.