couvade

American  

[koo-vahd, koo-vad] / kuˈvɑd, kuˈvad /

noun

1. 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.

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couvade British  

/ kuvad, kuːˈvɑːd /

noun

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

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Etymology

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 -ade ¹; cf. covey

Explanation

Couvade is a cultural practice where the husband of a pregnant wife takes to bed or simulates labor when the child is being born. The word couvade comes from the French verb couver, meaning "to hatch" or "to brood," reflecting the idea of the father sharing in the birth process. Though the concept of couvade might seem unusual to outsiders, it is often viewed as a way for the father to empathize with his pregnant partner. Couvade can vary widely, from simply resting in bed to engaging in rituals that mirror what the mother is going through.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

couvade

There are excellent passages in the book on synced hormones and perinatal conditions, as when fathers experience labor pains, “an extreme example of what researchers have dubbed couvade syndrome.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Men, of course, cannot bear babies despite the romantic notions called couvade, whereby the father writhes in bed when the mother goes through labor.

From Time Magazine Archive

A common ceremony is the "couvade": the pregnant woman ignores her condition as best she can, while the husband secludes himself, sticks to a careful diet.

From Time Magazine Archive

If, as is suggested by the "debility" of the Ultonians, and by other evidence, the couvade was a Celtic institution, this would also point to the existence of the matriarchate with the Celts.

From The Religion of the Ancient Celts by J. A. MacCulloch

The word couvade, forgotten in the sense of lying-in bed, recalled by Sacombe, has been renovated in a happy manner by Dr. Tylor.

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 2 by Henry Yule