sofa

Sofa is famously interchangeable with the word couch. More on that in the next section.

A love seat is a kind of small sofa or large chair that seats about two people. A similar piece of furniture is sometimes called a chair-and-a-half. 

Less commonly, a small sofa can be called a two-seater or, more fancily, a tête-à-tête or a vis-à-vis. These last two terms are especially used to refer to S-shaped sofas that allow two people to sit facing each other.

An upholstered seat for two or more people can be called a settee.

The word chesterfield can specifically refer to a large, overstuffed sofa with a tall back and arms. In Canada, it’s simply used to refer to a large sofa.

A divan is a sofa that doesn’t have an arm or back. A type of sofa without arms (and sometimes without a back) that’s specifically for reclining can be called a chaise, chaise lounge, or simply lounge.

A davenport is another kind of large sofa, especially one that can be converted into a bed.

Other terms for sofas that can convert into beds are sofa bed, pull-out sofa, convertible sofa, convertible couch, and sleeper sofa. A daybed is one that can be used as a sofa or a bed at different times.

A futon has the same function, but it’s basically a big mattress that folds in half to be a couch.

Couch comes from the Old French word couche, meaning “bed.” Sofa comes from the Arabic word suffah, meaning “a platform used as a seat.” But the differences in origin don’t affect how they’re used today. People have different preferences about which word they use, and some people use both, but they mean the same thing. A piece of upholstered furniture that seats two or more people, often with a back and at least one arm. Calling a piece of furniture a sofa or a couch implies that it’s upholstered and at least somewhat cushiony. A similar piece of furniture that’s not upholstered (one that’s just wooden, for example) would just be called a bench.