couchant
Americanadjective
-
lying down; crouching.
-
Heraldry. (of an animal) represented as lying on its stomach with its hind legs and forelegs pointed forward.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of couchant
1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French, present participle of coucher to lay or lie. See couch, -ant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gen. Ambrose Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac, “but if the couchant lion postpones his spring too long, people will begin wondering whether he is not a stuffed specimen after all.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
“What I want to see before I die,” Frederick Douglass wrote, “is a monument representing the negro, not couchant on his knees like a four-footed animal, but erect on his feet like a man.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 31, 2020
Which is the proper symbol for the Tories, asked the Manchester Guardian, lion rampant or hen couchant?
From Time Magazine Archive
When thou complaisant Looked on expectant for some virtuous act, How Self appeared like some fierce tigress couchant, And we with evil motive seemed impact!
From Memoirs of Mrs. Rebecca Steward by T. G. (Theophilus Gould) Steward
As for Great Britain, not satisfied with one lion, she repeats him seven times, rampant or couchant, on the royal standard.
From The Arena Volume 18, No. 93, August, 1897 by Various
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