What is "mattress"

Mattress \Mat"tress\, n. [OF. materas, F. matelas, LL. matratium; cf. Sp. & Pg. almadraque, Pr. almatrac; all from Ar. ma[.t]rah a place where anything is thrown, what is thrown under something, fr. [.t]araha to throw.]

1. A large pad stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable soft material, and quilted or otherwise fastened, used as or in a bed, to support the human body while lying down.

2. (Hydraulic Engin.) A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc., to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves.

   innerspring mattress A variety of mattress[1] having springs inside to provide a flexible support; it is considered more comfortable than a stuffed mattress.

late 13c., from Old French materas (12c., Modern French matelas), from Italian materasso and directly from Medieval Latin matracium, borrowed in Sicily from Arabic al-matrah "the cushion" (also source of Spanish almadraque "mattress," Provençal almatrac), literally "the thing thrown down," from taraha "he threw (down)."

n. 1 A pad on which a person can recline and sleep, usually having an inner section of coiled springs covered with foam or other cushioning material then enclosed with cloth fabric. 2 A form of retaining wall used to support foundations or an embankment

n. a large thick pad filled with resilient material and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or part of a bed

Mattress was the term applied to ground-based Western Allied multiple rocket launchers during World War II. Compared with the German and Soviet forays into this area (the Nebelwerfer and Katyusha launchers respectively) the western Allies developed and deployed these weapons late in the war. Nevertheless, they did see useful service as artillery support during the crossings of the Rhine and the Scheldt rivers.

A mattress is a pad on which a person can lie and sleep.

Mattress may also refer to:

• "Mattress" (Glee), an episode of Glee
• Mattress (rocket), a multiple rocket launcher during World War II
• Mattress (Zem), a race in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A mattress is a large pad for supporting the reclining body, used as a bed or as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a quilted or similarly fastened case, usually of heavy cloth, that contains hair, straw, cotton, foam rubber, etc., or a framework of metal springs. Mattresses may also be filled with air or water.

The word mattress derives from the Arabic matrah, which means "something thrown down" or "place where something is thrown down" and hence "mat, cushion". During the Crusades Europeans adopted the Arabic method of sleeping on cushions on the floor, and the word materas eventually descended into Middle English through the Romance languages.

Mattresses are usually placed on top of a bed base which may be solid, as in the case of a platform bed, or elastic, e.g. with an upholstered wood and wire box spring or a slatted foundation. Popular in Europe, a divan incorporates both mattress and foundation in a single upholstered, footed unit. Divans have at least one innerspring layer as well as cushioning materials. They may be supplied with a secondary mattress and/or a removable "topper."

Early mattresses contained a variety of natural materials including straw, feathers or horse hair. In the first half of the 20th century, a typical mattress sold in North America had an innerspring core and cotton batting or fiberfill. Modern mattresses usually contain either an inner spring core or materials such as latex, viscoelastic or other flexible polyurethane foams. Other fill components include insulator pads over the coils that prevent the bed's upholstery layers from cupping down into the innerspring, as well as polyester fiberfill in the bed's top upholstery layers. In 1899 James Marshall introduced the first individually wrapped pocketed spring coil mattress now commonly known as Marshall coils. Mattresses may also be filled with air or water, or a variety of natural fibers, such as in futons. Kapok is a common mattress material in Southeast Asia, and coir in South Asia.

In North America the typical mattress sold today is an innerspring; however there is increasing interest in all-foam beds and so-called hybrid beds, which include both an innerspring and high-end foams such as visco-elastic or latex in the comfort layers. In Europe, polyurethane foam cores and latex cores have long been popular and make up a much larger proportion of the mattresses sold.

"Mattress", also known as "Once Upon a Mattress", is the twelfth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on December 2, 2009. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Elodie Keene. In "Mattress", the glee club discovers that they are going to be omitted from the school yearbook. Club member Rachel Berry ( Lea Michele) has the team cast in a local mattress commercial in an attempt to raise their social status. Glee club director Will Schuester ( Matthew Morrison) discovers that his wife Terri ( Jessalyn Gilsig) has been faking her pregnancy.

The episode features cover versions of four songs, studio recordings of three of which were released as singles, available for digital download, and are also included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 2. "Mattress" was watched by 8.15 million US viewers, Glee series high at that point. It received mixed reviews from critics. The conclusion of the fake pregnancy storyline attracted praise, as did Gilsig and Morrison's acting, however Liz Pardue of Zap2it expressed dismay that so few songs were performed, while Raymund Flandez of the Wall Street Journal deemed "Jump" "the only memorable song of the episode".