Zabuton
/ˈzɑː.bʊ.tɒn/noun
A Japanese flat, square cushion used for sitting on the floor or on a platform.
Did you know?The word combines native Japanese usage with Sino-Japanese vocabulary: za means “sitting” or “seat,” while futon originally referred to padded bedding or a cushion.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Chinese
布團 / 布团 (bùtuán)
“A cloth-covered cushion or padded sitting object”
Before the 8th Century
Japanese
座 (za)
“A seat, sitting place, or place where one sits”
8th–10th Century
Japanese
布団 (futon)
“Padded bedding or a cushion, written with Sino-Japanese characters meaning “cloth” and “group/mass””
Edo Period
Japanese
座布団 (zabuton)
“A cushion placed beneath a seated person”
20th Century
English
zabuton
“A Japanese floor cushion, especially one used in traditional seating”