The term rug was first used in English in the 1550s, with the meaning 'coarse fabric'. Historically, the term carpet was also applied to table and wall coverings, as carpets were not commonly used on the floor in European interiors until the 15th century. A third common definition is that a carpet is permanently fixed in place while a rug is simply laid out on the floor.

Another definition treats rugs as of lower quality or of smaller size, with carpets quite often having finished ends. A carpet is sometimes defined as stretching from wall to wall. The terms carpet and rug are often used interchangeably. The meaning of the term carpet shifted in the 15th century to refer to floor coverings. The word comes from Old French carpite 'heavy decorated cloth, carpet', from Medieval Latin or Old Italian carpita 'thick woolen cloth', which may derive from Latin carpere 'to card, pluck'.

The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the term carpet was first used in English in the late 13th century, with the meaning 'coarse cloth', and by the mid-14th century, 'tablecloth, bedspread'. One derivation of the term states that the French term came from the Old Italian carpita, from the verb carpire meaning 'to pluck'. The term carpet comes from Latin carpita, Old French carpite. Wall-to-wall carpet is distinguished from rugs or mats, which are loose-laid floor coverings, as wall-to-wall carpet is fixed to the floor and covers a much larger area. Since the 19th and 20th century, where necessary for wall-to-wall carpet, different widths of carpet can be seamed together with a seaming iron and seam tape (formerly it was sewn together) and fixed to a floor over a cushioned underlay (pad) using nails, tack strips (known in the UK as gripper rods), adhesives, or occasionally decorative metal stair rods. Carpet is commonly made in widths of 12 feet (3.7 m) and 15 feet (4.6 m) in the US and 4 m (13 ft) and 5 m (16 ft) in Europe. Today, a huge range of carpets and rugs are available at many price and quality levels, ranging from inexpensive, synthetic carpets that are mass-produced in factories and used in commercial buildings to costly hand-knotted wool rugs that are used in private homes and houses.Ĭarpets can be produced on a loom quite similarly to woven fabric, made using needle felts, knotted by hand (in oriental rugs), made with their pile injected into a backing material (called tufting), flatwoven, made by hooking wool or cotton through the meshes of a sturdy fabric, or embroidered. Carpets are used in industrial and commercial establishments such as retail stores and hotels and in private homes. Carpets can have many different types of patterns and motifs used to decorate the surface. Carpets can be made in any color by using differently dyed fibers. Carpets are used for a variety of purposes, including insulating a person's feet from a cold tile or concrete floor, making a room more comfortable as a place to sit on the floor (e.g., when playing with children or as a prayer rug), reducing sound from walking (particularly in apartment buildings), and adding decoration or color to a room.

Media room rug