couvade

[ koo-vahd; French koo-vad ]

noun

a practice among some peoples, as the Basques of Spain, in which a man, immediately preceding the birth of his child, takes to his bed in an enactment of the birth experience and subjects himself to various taboos usually associated with pregnancy.

Origin of couvade

1860–65; <French (now obsolete), literally, a hatching, sitting on eggs, equivalent to couv(er) to hatch (<Latin cubāre to lie down) + -ade-ade¹; cf. covey

Words Nearby couvade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use couvade in a sentence

Those who would know more may consult an Encyclopaedia, under the heading ‘couvade.’
The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
The custom of the couvade, attributed by Strabo to the Cantabri, is unknown among the modern Basques.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 | Various
These allusions always refer to the Béarnais, the dialect whence the word “couvade” is borrowed.
Basque Legends | Wentworth Webster
The custom of the couvade may therefore perhaps be assigned to the early patriarchal stage.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India--Volume I (of IV) | R.V. Russell
The practice of couvade is said to exist among the Nicobarese, but we heard nothing of it during our visit.
In the Andamans and Nicobars | C. Boden Kloss

British Dictionary definitions for couvade

couvade

/ (kuːˈvɑːd, French kuvad) /

noun

anthropol a custom in certain cultures of treating the husband of a woman giving birth as if he were bearing the child

Origin of couvade

C19: from French, from couver to hatch, from Latin cubāre to lie down

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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