'quilt' originates from Middle English, specifically the word 'quilte' (or 'quilte/quilte'), ultimately from Old French 'cuilte' and Latin 'culcita' where 'culcita' meant 'mattress' or 'stuffed cushion'.

'quilt' changed from Middle English 'quilte' (borrowed from Old French 'cuilte'), and over time the sense narrowed to the stitched bedcover and the verb 'to quilt' (to stitch layers together), giving modern English 'quilt' and 'quilting'.

Initially it meant 'mattress' or 'stuffed cushion' (from Latin 'culcita'), but over time it evolved to mean 'a stitched bedcover made of layers' and the action 'to sew layers together' that we use today.