couchetten.
/kuːˈʃɛt/, U.S. /kuˈʃɛt/ A Continental railway carriage in which the seats are convertible into sleeping-berths; such a berth. Also attributive.
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society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage > carriage designed to carry passengers > sleeping car
Pullman car1867
bed-carriage1869
car1873
sleeper1875
wagon-lit1884
bunk-car1894
couchette1920
slumbercoach1958
society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage > carriage designed to carry passengers > sleeping car > berth in
upper berth1586
upper1938
couchette1969
1920 Bradshaw's Continental Guide July–Sept. p. iv (advt.) Paris (Lyon)..Marseilles, 1st class Couchettes.
1928 Observer 11 Mar. 10/4 The adaptation of existing third-class corridor coaches so as to provide sleeping accommodation something on the lines of the French ‘couchette’.
1930 E. Waugh Labels 29 I booked a couchette, which, I am told, is the way Frenchmen always travel. It is a carriage for four, with two berths which open from the wall above the seats. You can lie full length on these, covered with rugs.
1950 T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party iii. 142 I had to travel in a very slow train And in a couchette.
1958 Spectator 13 June 772/1 Why on earth, then, has the continental couchette system not been exploited here? By this means, sleepers can be converted into seats in a few seconds.
1969 Daily Tel. 6 Oct. 9/8 You can choose..couchettes (six to a compartment).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1920