coverture

[kuhv-er-cher]

noun

a cover or covering; shelter; concealment.
Law. the status of a married woman considered as under the protection and authority of her husband.

Origin of coverture

1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French. See covert, -ure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for coverture

Historical Examples of coverture

It was plain he was troubled; plain too he was only waiting for the coverture of the house to speak.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
Baron and feme we call husband and wife, and coverture we term marriage.
The Book-Hunter
John Hill Burton
Richard remained under this coverture while he was anointed.
Richard II
Jacob Abbott
A woman needed protection, or as the law of England has it, coverture.
Judges and Ruth
Robert A. Watson
Tennessee removed the disability of married women arising from coverture.
A Short History of Women's Rights
Eugene A. Hecker

British Dictionary definitions for coverture

coverture

noun

law the condition or status of a married woman considered as being under the protection and influence of her husband
rare shelter, concealment, or disguise

Word Origin for coverture

C13: from Old French, from covert covered; see covert

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

Word Origin and History for coverture

early 13c., earliest reference is to bedcovers, from Old French coverture (12c.) "blanket; roof; concealment," from Latin *coopertura, from past participle stem of cooperire "to cover" (see cover (v.)). Most modern senses had evolved by mid-15c.