Bringing back davenport.

I remain committed to some of my Midwestern terms out of habit (my vaccuum is a "sweeper," I wear "tennis shoes" instead of sneakers, even though I never play tennis.)  Still other words of habit are continued out of a bullheaded insistence that our word is the right one (such as:  that fine, sugary beverage will always be called "pop," which of course, can be procured from a "pop machine.")

And then there are the ones I dropped pretty quickly after I moved, because when I used them, it became really clear that no one else had any idea to what I was referring.  For example:  I don't know anyone else who refers to a winter hat as a toboggan.  I fought to keep that one for a while, but ultimately decided to let it go outside of my visits home, since people made fun of me for "putting a sled on my head."

There is one I dropped, but have increasingly been wishing I held onto more insistently.  I really want to bring back davenport.  For those not Midwesternly-inclined, davenport is used synonymously with couch or sofa, ala "come sit next to me on the davenport."  As I learned recently, a Davenport is a very specific type of sofa that is no longer made, and isn't actually another word for couch, as I've always used it.  (Don't judge - you probably call all tissues a Kleenex, don't you?) 

My case for bringing it back is simple:  1) It's an awesome word.  2) It reminds me of my grandparents, who were the two best people I've ever known (with whom I spent many a time on the davenport.)  3) You always read about those lost civilizations and languages and such that became extinct.  I figure I couldn't do anything about Old English, Ancient Greek, or any of these massive lists, but I can do my part to preserve various archaic Midwestern and Appalachian terms.  

I'm starting now.