couchant

[ kou-chuhnt ]

/ ˈkaʊ tʃənt /

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adjective

lying down; crouching.

Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying on its stomach with its hind legs and forelegs pointed forward.

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Origin of couchant

1400–50; late Middle English <Middle French, present participle of coucher to lay or lie. See couch, -ant

Words nearby couchant

cotyloid joint, cotylosaur, cotype, coucal, couch, couchant, couché, coucher, couchette, couch grass, couching

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use couchant in a sentence

It has his effigy in armour, with an ermined mantle, his feet leaning against a lion couchant.
East Anglia|J. Ewing Ritchie
They saw the great cathedral lying couchant above the plain.
Sons and Lovers|David Herbert Lawrence
They are weak sops to our tame lion couchant offered in doubtful fear and trembling.
The Sorrows of Satan|Marie Corelli
The two huge couchant lions at either end of the steps are of much later date than these.
Cathedral Cities of Italy|William Wiehe Collins

Occasionally, as in the crest of Marwood, the ram will be found couchant.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry|Arthur Charles Fox-Davies

British Dictionary definitions for couchant

couchant

/ (ˈkaʊtʃənt) /

adjective

(usually postpositive) heraldry in a lying positiona lion couchant

Word Origin for couchant

C15: from French: lying, from Old French coucher to lay down; see couch

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