Duvet
From Free net encyclopedia
A duvet (pronounced Template:IPA, from the French duvet Template:IPA "down") is a type of bedding— a soft flat bag traditionally filled with down or feathers, or a combination of both and used on a bed as a blanket. Duvets originally came out of rural Europe and were made of Eider, a type of duck's down, which is well known for its usefulness as an insulator.
Eiderdown is therefore used as a synonym of duvet, as is continental quilt.
Duvets are still commonly used in Europe (especially in northern Europe and Scandinavia where it is the most common form of bed covering), and have become popular throughout the world in the late twentieth century.
Duvets reduce the complexity of making a bed, as it is a single cover instead of the combination of two sheets, blankets, and quilts or other bed covers, which is traditional in many parts of the world. Beds equipped with duvets are usually covered first with a flat or fitted bed sheet and then afterwards with a covered duvet. The cover is called a "duvet cover" or a "quilt cover".
Nowadays, a duvet is sometimes filled with wool or artificial fibers (such as polyester batting or other artificial material). It is also sometimes referred to as a comforter, although comforters are primarily decorative while duvets are used for their warmth.
In Australia it is called a "Doona", from a trademarked brand name derived from the Old Norse dunn meaning "down feathers". Though still registered to the Tontine company, the name "Doona" has become a generic term for a duvet or down quilt. A "sick day" from work is sometimes referred to as a "doona day". Originally the term continental quilt was the standard name used across Australia; some regions of Australia still use this term today.
In Danish and Norwegian it is called a dyne, which is pronounced similarly to the Australian name.
The term Duvet Day is used in some countries to describe an allowance of one day a year when you can simply call work and say you're not coming in, even if you don't have holiday booked and you're not ill. This became fashionable in the late 1990s with many larger companies in the USA and the UK.
See also: silk comforter