Meanings
plural palliasses · alternative paillasse
- UKA thin mattress or under bed stuffed with straw.
1969, Dad's Army S03E02 You see that pile of straw over there? With it you stuff your palliasse.
2 more examples
Out I sallied and spent sixteen shillings of it upon a new palliasse which should go under the straw mattress upon my bed.
1895, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 12, in The Stark Munro LettersFirst Hiker. Not even a straw mattress to cling to? Rosenstock. Not even a palliasse.
1979, Tom Stoppard. Undiscovered Country., (Please provide the book title or journal name)
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpalea“chaff”
- Old Frenchpaille“straw, chaff”
- Frenchpaillasse
- Englishpalliasse
French French paillasse, from Old French paille (“straw, chaff”), from Latin palea (“chaff”).
More words from French, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian сламеник
- сламеник (slamenik)mattress
Greek αχυρόστρωμα
- αχυρόστρωμα (achyróstroma)mattress
Polish siennik
- siennikmattress
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
palliasse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palliasse
“palliasse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palliasse. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “palliasse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/palliasse.
Source: palliasse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.