accouchement

American  

[uh-koosh-muhnt, a-koosh-mahn] / əˈkuʃ mənt, a kuʃˈmɑ̃ /

noun

plural

accouchements

1. the confinement of childbirth; lying-in.

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accouchement British  

/ akuʃmɑ̃, əˈkuːʃmənt /

noun

1. childbirth or the period of confinement

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Etymology

Origin of accouchement

1800–10; < French, derivative, with -ment -ment, of accoucher to give birth, be delivered, assist in giving birth, Old French: to lie down, take to bed, equivalent to ac- ac- + coucher to put to bed; see couch

Example Sentences

In 1910 he was in Paris assisting, with Picasso and Braque, at the accouchement of cubism.

From Time Magazine Archive

All such details of accouchement can be arranged in homely midwife fashion by the Director of the Bank of Scotland.

From Time Magazine Archive

Long before Nicholas Jacques Charrier entered Paris, the French press, excited beyond endurance�and reason�turned his mother's accouchement into the biggest story since the ascendancy of Charles de Gaulle.

From Time Magazine Archive

He secured a tractor, arrived at the accouchement with 15 minutes to spare.

From Time Magazine Archive

Euphemia said that her acquaintance with Agnes Sampson began with her first accouchement, when she applied to her to mitigate her pains, and she did so by transferring them to a dog.

From Witch, Warlock, and Magician Historical Sketches of Magic and Witchcraft in England and Scotland by Adams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)