"upholsterer's work, furniture covered with textile materials, interior fittings made from textiles," 1640s; see upholster + -y (4).
Entries linking to upholstery
upholster v.
1853, back-formation from upholsterer. Related: Upholstered; upholstering.
-y 4
suffix indicating state, condition, or quality; also activity or the result of it (as in victory, history, etc.), via Anglo-French and Old French -é, from Latin -ia, Greek -ia, from PIE *-a-, suffix forming abstract or collective nouns. It is etymologically identical with -ia and the second element in -cy, -ery, -logy, etc.