The Collaborative International Dictionary
Couchant \Couch"ant\ (kouch"ant), a. [F., p. pr. of coucher. See Couch, v. t.]
Lying down with head erect; squatting.
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(Her.) Lying down with the head raised, which distinguishes the posture of couchant from that of dormant, or sleeping; -- said of a lion or other beast.
Couchant and levant (Law), rising up and lying down; -- said of beasts, and indicating that they have been long enough on land, not belonging to their owner, to lie down and rise up to feed, -- such time being held to include a day and night at the least.
--Blackstone. [1913 Webster] ||
Wiktionary
a. 1 (context of an animal English) Lying down; crouching. 2 (context heraldry English) Represented as lying down with the head raised.
WordNet
adj. lying on the stomach with head raised with legs pointed forward [syn: couchant(ip)]
Usage examples of "couchant".
V With shudders chill as aconite, The couchant chewer of the cud Will start at times in pussy fright Before the dogs, when reads her sprite The streaks predicting streams of blood.
Vpon the heade of the trygonall blacke stone, towarde euerie corner, I did behold an Egiptian Monster of Gold, fower footed couchant.
Wood, Pit Down, and Merdon Down, for all their commonable cattle, levant and couchant, upon their respective copyhold tenements, within the said manor.
On it is a photo of a sculpture, a simplistically elegant hound—not a treeing hound like her lifelong companion, but a gaze hound, couchant, with a long neck and pointed nose, and a gaze hound's insignificant ears.