Ottoman (furniture)

The seat may have hinges and a lid for the inside hollow, which can be used for storing linen, magazines, or other items, making it a form of storage furniture.

[2][3] The smaller version is usually placed near to an armchair or sofa as part of living room decor, or may be used as a fireside seat.

Other names for this piece of furniture include footstool,[5] hassock,[6] pouf (sometimes spelled pouffe),[7][8] in Shropshire, England, the old dialect word tumpty,[9] and in Newfoundland humpty.

[12] The first known recorded use in English occurs in one of Thomas Jefferson's memorandum books from 1789, "P[ai]d. for an Ottomane of velours d'Utrecht.

The seat was divided in the center by arms or by a central, padded column that might hold a plant or statue.