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couvade

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couvade

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

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