From a medieval Turkish warlord to your living room footstool — the ottoman traces the unlikely journey from imperial conquest to domestic comfort.
A low, upholstered seat or footstool without a back, or a heavy corded silk fabric; historically, relating to the Ottoman Empire.
From French ottoman, from Italian ottomano, from Arabic Uthmān, the personal name of the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, Osman I (Uthman in Arabic) Key roots: Uthmān (Arabic: "personal name of dynasty founder").
The ottoman footstool was named after the Ottoman Empire because European travelers associated the low, backless seating with Turkish domestic life. The empire that conquered Constantinople and terrified Europe for centuries left its most everyday legacy in living rooms — a padded footrest named after a 13th-century Turkish warlord.