n.
- a bag of cloth stuffed with a mass of soft material, used as a comfortable support for sitting or leaning on.
- something providing support or protection against impact.
▸the elastic lining of the sides of a billiard table, from which the ball rebounds.
v.
- soften the effect of an impact on.
- mitigate the adverse effects of:
to cushion the blow, wages were increased.
Derivative
- cushioned adj.
- cushiony adj.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. cuissin, based on a L. word meaning ‘cushion for the hip’, from coxa ‘hip, thigh’.