couvade

[ koo-vahd; French koo-vad ]

/ kuˈvɑd; French kuˈvad /

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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.

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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

couthie, coutil, couture, couturier, couturière, couvade, couvade syndrome, Couvelaire uterus, couvert, couzin, COV

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

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

Word Origin for 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

Medical definitions for couvade

couvade

[ kōō-väd′ ]

A practice in certain non-Western cultures in which the husband of a woman in labor takes to his bed as though he were bearing the child.