‖ fauteuil
(fotœj)
[a. F. fauteuil, f. OF. faudeteuil, faldestoel:—med.L. faldistolium faldstool.]
a. An arm-chair.
| 1744 Gray in Gosse Life (1882) 74 Squatted me into a fauteuil. 1771 H. Walpole Lett. Cntess. Ossory (1857) V. 324 The mountain-gods..pulling their fauteuils across a continent. 1813 Examiner 1 Feb. 71/2 Sofas, fauteuils, console-tables, girandoles. 1866 Mrs. H. Wood St. Martin's Eve xxiv. (1874) 299 Her grandmamma's fauteuil. |
b. Popularly pronounced (ˈfəʊtɪl). A seat in a theatre, an omnibus, etc., designed to resemble an armchair; spec. = stall n.1 5 c.
| 1859 Sala Twice round Clock 253 The stalls... Those comfortable fauteuils. 1901 Playgoer 15 Oct. 38/1 Fine fauteils for sixpence; or stage box seats for ninepence. 1925 A. P. Herbert Laughing Ann 37 Oh, I likes a bit of enjoyment on a Friday, I like to sit in the fautles an' be grand. 1931 Morning Post 20 Aug. 8/3 With their covered-in tops, resilient springs, and voluptuous fauteuils, the latest omnibuses have become so attractive that one often feels..disinclined to get off. 1970 Wykehamist 11 July 498/2 The real critic..settles down in his luxurious fauteuil on the lower slopes of the Theatre Workshop Parnassus to have a good laugh. |
c. The seat of a member of the French Academy; hence, membership of the Academy.
| 1883 Standard 23 Aug. 5/2 The number of Academic fauteuils would be fixed. 1920 Glasgow Herald 28 Apr. 9 The creation..of the class of Senior Academicians, whose fauteuils automatically become vacant. |