tuffet means A clump of grass or similar vegetation; a small grass-covered mound.
Why “tuffet” is a great word
A low seat or footstool, often cushioned, or a small grassy mound, descending from Anglo-French *tuffete*, a diminutive of Old French *touffe* ("tuft") and first recorded in English use circa 1553. Unlike an ottoman, which suggests a formal, upholstered piece, or a hassock, which carries firm, ecclesiastical weight, a tuffet retains a sense of diminutive, humble softness—whether crafted or grown. It is the worn, tapestry-covered perch for a child in a fireside tale; the plump, mossy hillock rising in a meadow; the precise, rounded swell of grass where one might take tea with a spider. The word compresses domestic comfort and pastoral modesty into four soft syllables, suggesting that elevation need not be grand to be sufficient.
Etymology
From Old French touffel, diminutive of touffe (“tuft”). Regarding etymological and semantic uncertainty, see Wikipedia at Little Miss Muffet § Tuffet and §§ Uncertain meaning.
noun
- A clump of grass or similar vegetation; a small grass-covered mound.e.g.“Little Miss Muffet, She sat on a tuffet, Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider, Who sat down beside her, And frighted Miss Muffet away.” — 1805, Songs for the Nursery, page 23:
- A large cushion which may have an internal frame, used as a low seat or stool.
- An inflatable cushion serving as landing area for precision accuracy parachuting.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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