coverture

[ kuhv-er-cher ]

noun

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

coverture

/ ˈkʌvətʃə /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of coverture¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of coverture¹

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

Example Sentences

Leaving the bilious and mathematical exactitude, the preposterous peace of that backwater, he thought suddenly: 'During coverture!

From Project Gutenberg

One cannot get over the fact that a wife during coverture had practically no legal status at all.

From Project Gutenberg

Sholto felt nervously for his sword and cleared it instinctively of the coverture in which he was wrapped.

From Project Gutenberg

A woman needed protection, or as the law of England has it, coverture.

From Project Gutenberg

The counterpane, or "coverture de parade," was of the curtain material.

From Project Gutenberg