divan means A Muslim council of state, specifically that of viziers of the Ottoman Empire that discussed and recommended new laws and law changes to a higher authority (the sultan). It carries an Arena rating of 1531, earned across 102 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, divan ranks #1,587 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,790 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,925 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,449 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
divan is pronounced /dɪˈvæn/.
Why “divan” is a great word
DIVAN — [Noun] A long, low sofa without a back or arms, often placed against a wall and serving as a bed-base. From Ottoman Turkish دیوان (divan, "state council"), from Arabic دِيوَان (dīwān, "register, office"), from Persian دیوان (dēwān, "archive, collected writings"), from Middle Persian dēwān, ultimately from Sumerian 𒁾 (dub, "tablet"). First recorded in English 1580–90. Unlike a "sofa," a principal upholstered seat with a defined back, or a "settee," a formal perch for sociable upright conversation, a divan is an architecture of provisional comfort and horizontal surrender. It is the sun-drenched plinth for an afternoon siesta, the muffled bench lining a hushed corridor, the low silhouette draped in kilims against a wall—a piece of furniture that remembers its origins in ledgers and state councils, now resigned to holding up our tired limbs, a monument to stillness built from the architecture of administration.
Etymology
Borrowed from French, from Ottoman Turkish دیوان (divan), from Classical Persian دیوان (dēwān), from Middle Persian d(p)ywʾn' (dēwān, “archive, collected writings”), from Sumerian 𒁾 (dub). Compare mattress, from Arabic (both of Middle Eastern origin, due to the local custom of lying on padding on floor being foreign to Europeans). Doublet of dewan, douane, and diwaniya.
noun
- A Muslim council of state, specifically that of viziers of the Ottoman Empire that discussed and recommended new laws and law changes to a higher authority (the sultan).
- The council chamber where this court is held; (by extension), any court of justice.
- Any council or assembly.
- A couch or sofa-like piece of furniture made of a mattress lying against the wall and on either the floor or an elevated structure.e.g.“Eurydice pointed to the cupboard, and sat down on the low divan with folded hands, and looked at the floor.” — 1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 20, in Friday's Business:
- An establishment that serves cigars and coffee, and may offer other amenities such as books, newspapers, and chess.e.g.“Near-synonym: smoking room”
- An establishment that serves cigars and coffee, and may offer other amenities such as books, newspapers, and chess.; A drug or cigarette den.e.g.“No person shall open, keep, manage or assist in the management of a divan where a dangerous drug is sold in the divan to be smoked, inhaled, ingested or injected therein; […]” — (Can we date this quote?), “Divan keeping”, in Cap. 134 Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, section 35:
- A collection of poems, especially one written by an author in Arabic or Persian.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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