Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a thick, firm cushion used as a footstool or for kneeling.
- ottoman(def 6).
- a rank tuft of coarse grass or sedge, as in a bog.
noun
- a firm upholstered cushion used for kneeling on, esp in church
- a thick clump of grass
Old English hassuc “clump of grass, coarse grass,” of unknown origin. Sense of “thick cushion” is first recorded 1510s, with the likely connection being the perceived similarity of a kneeling cushion and a tuft of grass.