a large sofa usually convertible into a bed

A compact writing desk with a sloped top above a case of drawers.

a British term describing a small writing desk

A small writing desk said to be named after Captain Davenport who commissioned it.

A pretty and small writing desk with a sloping front, usually supported by ornate legs, with a series of drawers down one side, and false drawers on the opposite side. So called because the first one was ordered by one Capt. John Davenport in the late 1790s. Some examples have a writing surface which slides forwards as opposed to a fall-front, and quite a few harlequin examples exist. [ picture] [ picture] In the US, this is a term for a sort of sofa, or day bed, specifically with a head rest.

A small narrow writing desk, mainly mid-19th Century English. Usually, these desks have a sloping writing area and drawers or cupboards below (often pulling out sideways). The first Davenport desks were made around 1790 to the order of Captain Davenport, but most are mid-Victorian.

type of ornamental writing-desk

Small writing desk. In current American use, an upholstered sofa.

Davenport is the name of a series of sofas manufactured by the now-defunct A.H. Davenport Company. Due to the popularity of the furniture at the time, the name "Davenport" has become a genericized trademark and is often used as a synonym for "sofa", especially in the Midwestern United States and among those born before World War II.