Meanings
plural couvades
- 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.
- countableuncountableSympathetic pregnancy: the involuntary sympathetic experience of the husband of symptoms of his wife's pregnancy, such as weight gain or morning sickness.
Origin
- Frenchcouvade“brooding”
- Englishcouvade
From French couvade (“brooding”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
couvade. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/couvade
“couvade.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/couvade. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “couvade,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/couvade.
Source: couvade on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.