couvade

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/kuːˈvɑːd//kuːˈvæd/

noun

A practice among some peoples, such as the Basques, of the husband of a woman in the last stages of pregnancy taking to bed, avoiding certain foods, or imitating other behaviours of a pregnant woman.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

nouncouvade (countable and uncountable, plural couvades)

plural couvades

  1. countableuncountableA practice among some peoples, such as the Basques, of the husband of a woman in the last stages of pregnancy taking to bed, avoiding certain foods, or imitating other behaviours of a pregnant woman.
  2. countableuncountableSympathetic pregnancy: the involuntary sympathetic experience of the husband of symptoms of his wife's pregnancy, such as weight gain or morning sickness.

Origin

  1. Frenchcouvade“brooding”
  2. Englishcouvade

From French couvade (“brooding”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

couvade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/couvade

MLA

“couvade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/couvade. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “couvade,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/couvade.

Source: couvade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.