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

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
Couvade is a term which was coined by anthropologist E.B. Tylor in 1865 to refer to certain rituals in several cultures that fathers adopt during pregnancy . Couvade can be traced to Ancient Egypt as a "sacred birth custom, of when a child is born, the ...

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Couvade \Cou`vade"\ (k[=oo]`v[.a]d"), n. [F., fr. couver. See Covey .] A custom, among certain barbarous tribes, that when a woman gives birth to a child her husband takes to his bed, as if ill. The world-wide custom of the couvade, where at childbirth ...

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 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. 2 sympathetic pregnancy: the involuntary sympathetic ...

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. a custom among some peoples whereby the husband of a pregnant wife is put to bed at the time of bearing the child