couvade

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a custom among some peoples whereby the husband of a pregnant wife is put to bed at the time of bearing the child

From French couvade (“brooding”).

Small families--Birth tabu--Birth customs---Infant mortality--Infanticide--Couvade--Name-giving--Names--Tabu on names--Childhood--Lactation--Food restrictions--Child-life and training--Initiation. — The North-West Amazons: Notes of some months spent among cannibal tribes, Thomas Whiffen

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