paillasse

straw mattress

noun pah-YAHS Rare

Also means

lab bench, draining board

Usage Note

Paillasse originally meant a mattress stuffed with straw (paille), associated with poverty or prisons. In a modern kitchen or laboratory it refers to the work surface or draining board next to a sink. The word is feminine: une paillasse.

Examples

"Il dormait sur une vieille paillasse."

Natural Translation

He slept on an old straw mattress.

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