DIVAN (Arabic divan)

This article appears in Volume V08, Page 326 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: DIO-DRO

DIVAN (Arabic divan) , a Persian word, derived probably from Aramaic, meaning a " counting-

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

, office, bureau, tribunal" ; thence, on one side, the " account-books and registers" of such an office, and, on another, the " room where the office or tribunal sits "; thence, again, from " account-book,

," a " book containing the poems of an author," arranged in a definite order (alphabetical according to the rhyme-words), perhaps because of the saying, " Poetry is the

(divan) of the Arabs," and from " bureau, tribunal," " a long seat, formed of a mattress laid against the side of the room, upon the floor or upon a raised structure or

frame

FRAME

, with cushions to lean against " (Lane,

Lexicon

LEXICON

, 930 f.). All these meanings existed and exist, especially " bureau, tribunal," " book of poems " and " seat "1; but the order of derivation may have been slightly different. The word first appears under the

caliphate

CALIPHATE

of Omar (A.D. 634-644).

Great

GREAT

wealth, gained from the Moslem conquests, was pouring into Medina, and a system of business management and administration became necessary. This was copied from the Persians and given the Persian name, divan." Later, as the state became more complicated, the

term

TERM

was extended over all the government bureaus. The divan of the Sublime Porte was for long the council of the empire, presided over by the grand

vizier

VIZIER

.
See Von Kremer, Culturgeschichte des Orients, i. 64, 198.
(D. B. MA.)
1 The divan in this sense has been known in Europe certainly since about the middle of the 18th century. It was fashionable, roughly speaking, from 182o to 185o, wherever the romantic

movement

MOVEMENT

in literature penetrated. All the boudoirs of that generation were garnished with divans; they even spread to coffee-houses, which were sometimes known as ` divans " or " Turkish divans "; and a " cigar divan" remains a familiar expression.

End of Article: DIVAN (Arabic divan)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/DIO_DRO/DIVAN_Arabic_divan_.html">
DIVAN (Arabic divan)
</a>

(Previous)
DIURNAL MOTION

(Next)
DIVER

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email

Sponsored Advertisements

Online First Aid and CPR Certification . DHA Solutions . PB Happy Hour Specials . Improvising Made Easy For Guitar and Bass . The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained . Home Equity Loans . First Aid and CPR Online . San Diego Music Lessons . 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings . Blow Up Your Site (For Free!) . San Diego DUI Lawyers . Jason Gastrich . Jordan Faith Gastrich . Divorce Secrets Revealed . Post Your Ad Link Free . San Diego Soccer Training . JCSM . Download Sermons . Custom Religious Banners, Build A Sign . Christian Singles Dating . Christian T-Shirts . Healing Christian Prayer . Bumper Authority . Personalized Blogs and Email . San Diego Haircuts . The Do the Math Diet . Stop Twitter Spam . Christian Conservative Work at Home Network . The Website of the Lord