noun
tatami
tuh-TAH-mee/təˈtɑːmi/
A traditional Japanese floor mat made of woven straw.
One tatami sits slightly out of place, revealing its thick straw core.
Etymology
Japanese tatami names the floor mat itself and also serves as a unit of room measurement. English retains the concrete floor-mat meaning.
In context
We got this kind [music] of like lifted platform here and it has these like tatami mats on.
More examples
- We remove our shoes before stepping onto the tatami.
- Six tatamis cover the floor of the small room.
- She unrolls her futon on the tatami each night.
Forms
tatami · tatamis
Similar words
- mat
- A broader term covering many materials, designs, and purposes.
- rug
- Usually a flexible textile covering rather than a thick straw mat.