cush·ion  (k sh ən)
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n.1. A pad or pillow with a soft filling, used for resting, reclining, or kneeling. 2. Something resilient used as a rest, support, or shock absorber. 3. A mat placed or attached beneath carpeting to provide softness and increase durability. 4. A padlike body part. 5. Games The rim bordering the playing surface of a billiard table. 6. A pillow used in lacemaking. 7. Something that mitigates or relieves an adverse effect: extra funds serving as a cushion against future inflation. tr.v. cush·ioned, cush·ion·ing, cush·ions 1. To provide with a cushion: cushion a bench. 2. To place or seat on a cushion. 3. To cover or hide (something) with or as if with a cushion. 4. To protect from impacts or other disturbing effects: an automobile suspension that cushions the ride. 5. To mitigate the effects of; absorb the shock of: cushion a blow.
[Middle English cushin, from Old French coussin, from Vulgar Latin *coxīnum, from Latin coxa, hip.]
cushion·y adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
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