Definition of "davenport"

davenport

/ˈdævənpɔːt/

noun
plural davenports
1. A large sofa, especially a formal one.
  Quotations
  He blundered into the living-room, lay on the davenport, hands behind his head.
  1922, Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt
  Beezus felt a little better. She curled up on the davenport again with 202 Things to Do on a Rainy Afternoon and read about making Christmas tree ornaments out of cellophane straws, until she heard her aunt's car turn into the driveway.
  1955, Beverly Cleary, Beezus and Ramona
2. A writing desk.
  Quotations
  Then she went into the house, and, sitting down at the davenport in the dining-room, got out a sheet of her best notepaper, and wrote a note to Pamela Dysart in her strong, commercially clear hand.
  1894, E[dith Anna] Œ[none] Somerville, Martin Ross [pseudonym; Violet Florence Martin], chapter IV, in The Real Charlotte […], volume I, London: Ward and Downey […], page 47
  He crosses to the davenport to get the policies from his briefcase,
  1944, Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Double Indemnity, (screenplay)