'bedspread' originates from Old English elements: 'bed' (Old English 'bedd') meaning 'a sleeping place' and 'spread' (from Old English 'spreadan'/'spreadan') meaning 'to stretch out, to spread.'

'bedspread' developed as a compound from the words 'bed' + 'spread' in Early Modern English and eventually became the single-word modern English form 'bedspread'.

Initially it meant 'a covering spread over a bed' and over time has retained essentially the same meaning as the modern 'bedspread'.