Main Entry: cou·vade

Pronunciation: \kü-ˈväd\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from Middle French, cowardly inactivity, from cover to sit on, brood over — more at covey

Date: 1865

: a custom in some cultures in which when a child is born the father takes to bed as if bearing the child and submits himself to fasting, purification, or taboos