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couvade

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
cou·vade  (k-väd)
n.
A practice in certain cultures in which the husband of a woman in labor takes to his bed as though he were bearing the child.

[French, from Old French, from couver, to incubate, hatch, from Latin cubre, to lie down on.]

couvade [kuːˈvɑːd (French) kuvad]
n
(Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology) Anthropol a custom in certain cultures of treating the husband of a woman giving birth as if he were bearing the child
[from French, from couver to hatch, from Latin cubāre to lie down]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.couvade - a custom among some peoples whereby the husband of a pregnant wife is put to bed at the time of bearing the child
custom, usage, usance - accepted or habitual practice


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
In the classic couvade of anthropological texts, men actually act out labor.
Dawson's classic compilation of couvade customs, says that that ritual path is made up of ways of losing mother or gaining mother: "All initiatory wandering is in the mother, through the mother, from mother, to mother.
What Hall finds is this: couvade customs seem intent on making a man "motherly" so as to make him a father.
 
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