Pronunciation: di-'van, 'dI-"van, esp in senses 1, 2, & 4 also di-'vän, dI-'van
Function: noun
Etymology: Turkish, from Persian dIwAn account book
Date: 1586
1 a : the privy council of the Ottoman Empire b
2 : a council chamber
3 : a large couch usually without back or arms often designed for use as a bed
4 : a collection of poems in Persian or Arabic usually by one author
 

HISTORY:  Chicken Divan was the signature dish of a 1950s New York restaurant, the Divan Parisienne. It is the word "divan" itself that is of interest. In English, divan came to mean sofa, from the council chamber's benches, while in France it meant a meeting place or great hall. It was this meaning that attracted the notice of the owners of the New York restaurant as they searched for a name that would simply continental elegance.