decubation

de·cub·a·tion
D2E1C3U1B3A1T1I1O1N1
UK/ˌdiːkjuːˈbeɪʃən/US/ˌdikjuˈbeɪʃən/

noun

The act of lying down.

Scrabble 15

Meanings

noundecubation (uncountable)
  1. formalobsoleterareuncountableThe act of lying down.

    Whatever might evene, I was procinct against a decubation in a state of deteriority, by an infrangible consortion with an amotorculist.

    1856, Lorenzo Altisonant [pseudonym; Samuel Klinefelter Hoshour], “Response to the Above. [Letter No. XIII.]”, in Letters to Squire Pedant, in the East, by Lorenzo Altisonant, an Emigrant to the West. […], 2nd edition, Cincinnati, Oh.: Applegate & Co., →OCLC, page 46
    2 more examples

    Here we may not omit what Learned men have obſerv'd concerning the Cuſtome of Prophets and Perſons inſpir'd of old, to ſleep [...] on Matraſſes and Beds made of their Leaves, ad Conſulendum to ask adviſe of God. [...] At this decubation upon Boughs the Satyriſt ſeems to hint where he introduces the Gypſies.

    1670, John Evelyn, “. Chapter XXXV. An Historical Account of the Sacrednesse, and Use of Standing Groves, &c..”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, →OCLC, page 231

    The editor of one of our Aberdeen papers, [...] jumped on board a farmer's pony, and bounded over the river's banks with more vigour than grace, knocked a few pipes out of the teeth of Aunt Sally in a field hard-by, and knocked two men into an attitude of decubation at Cults Station on the way home because they dared to intrude on his first-class privacy. Not a bad record for an afternoon, was it?

    1886 July 17, “Will o’ the Wisp”, in Bon-Accord: The Illustrated News of the North, volume I, number 18, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire: Henry J. Clarke, […], →OCLC, page 7, column 1

    Synonyms: cubation, decumbence, decumbency, decumbiture

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe act of lying down.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱewb-
  2. Englishdecubation

From Latin dēcubō (“to lie in a bed (that is not one’s own)”) + -ation (suffix indicating an action or process or its result). Dēcubō is derived from dē- (“from”) + cubō (“to lie down”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-); compare dēcumbō (“to lie down”).

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with decubation

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

decubation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decubation

MLA

“decubation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decubation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decubation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decubation.

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