coverture

[ kuhv-er-cher ]

/ ˈkʌv ər tʃər /

Save This Word!

noun

a cover or covering; shelter; concealment.

Law. the status of a married woman considered as under the protection and authority of her husband.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of coverture

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

Words nearby coverture

covert cloth, covert coat, cover text, cover the field, covertly, coverture, cover-up, cover version, cove stripe, covet, coveted

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use coverture in a sentence

Leaving the bilious and mathematical exactitude, the preposterous peace of that backwater, he thought suddenly: 'During coverture!
The Forsyte Saga, Volume III.|John Galsworthy
One cannot get over the fact that a wife during coverture had practically no legal status at all.
A Complete Guide to Heraldry|Arthur Charles Fox-Davies
Sholto felt nervously for his sword and cleared it instinctively of the coverture in which he was wrapped.
The Black Douglas|S. R. Crockett
A woman needed protection, or as the law of England has it, coverture.
Judges and Ruth|Robert A. Watson

The counterpane, or "coverture de parade," was of the curtain material.
Furnishing the Home of Good Taste|Lucy Abbot Throop

British Dictionary definitions for coverture

coverture

/ (ˈkʌvətʃə) /

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