Counterpane

I came across the word "counterpane" in the Maisie Dobbs book I'm reading and had to look it up.  First, the quote from Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear (2006), and then the definition of the word:

"With the torch, she inspected the cottage to see whether there were any signs that others had been there since her previous visit.  The stove was as she had left it, the counterpane seemed untouched" (p. 242).

Word of the Day

coun·ter·pane / ˈkoun(t)ərˌpān / noun (dated) = a bedspread.

It's a dated word, and it's British rather than American. So it's not surprising that I didn't really know the word.  The illustration at the top was labeled "Counterpane Knitting Archives" (click the link to learn more).  That's also where I found this poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, that I vaguely remember from my school days.  So I ran across the word early in life, though I doubt I knew exactly what the word meant.

The Land of Counterpane

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.