couvade means 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. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
couvade is pronounced /kuːˈvɑːd/.
Why “couvade” is a great word
COUVADE — [Noun] A custom or condition in which an expectant father takes to bed or exhibits pregnancy-like symptoms at the time of childbirth, a ritualized performance or its involuntary psychosomatic echo. From French couvade, from couver (“to brood, to hatch”), coined in 1865 by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor. Unlike “sympathetic pregnancy” (a modern, informal clinical label) or “paternity leave” (a sanctioned, bureaucratic absence), couvade is an enacted drama of profound, embodied identification. It is the straw bed in the corner of the hut, the phantom weight of a belly where none grows, the sharp, sympathetic pain felt continents away at the hour of birth—the body’s stubborn, tangible proof that creation is never a solitary act.
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.
- Sympathetic pregnancy: the involuntary sympathetic experience of the husband of symptoms of his wife's pregnancy, such as weight gain or morning sickness.