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bed

Great Bed of Ware, carved, inlaid, and painted wood, English, late 16th century; in the Victoria …

(credit: Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Crown copyright reserved)

Piece of furniture on which a person may recline or sleep. Beds of simple construction appear in medieval manuscripts, as do more decorative beds with carving and inlay, embroidered coverlets, and elaborate hangings. The canopy, or tester, was introduced in the 15th century. In the 1820s the development of coiled springs fitted into mattresses revolutionized the bed. In the Middle East beds consisted of rugs piled up on the floor. In China raised and canopied beds were used 2,000 years ago. The traditional Japanese bed (futon) consists of quilted padding and a coverlet arranged on the floor.

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bed

1. Med a unit of potential occupancy in a hospital or residential institution

2. a plot of ground in which plants are grown, esp when considered together with the plants in it

3. the bottom of a river, lake, or sea

4. a layer of crushed rock, gravel, etc., used as a foundation for a road, railway, etc

5. a layer of rock, esp sedimentary rock

6. a layer of solid particles of an absorbent, catalyst, or reagent through which a fluid is passed during the course of a chemical reaction or other process

7. a machine base on which a moving part carrying a tool or workpiece slides

8. go to bed Journalism Printing (of a newspaper, magazine, etc.) to go to press; start printing

9. put to bed

a. Journalism to finalize work on (a newspaper, magazine, etc.) so that it is ready to go to press

b. Printing to lock up the type forme of (a publication) in the press before printing