coverture

cov·er·ture

noun \ˈkə-vər-ˌchu̇r, -chər, -ˌtyu̇r, -ˌtu̇r\

Definition of COVERTURE

1

a : covering

b : shelter

2

: the status a woman acquires upon marriage under common law

Examples of COVERTURE

1. <under the coverture of a raging snowstorm, the rebels undertook their surprise attack on the fortress>

First Known Use of COVERTURE

13th century

Related to COVERTURE

Synonyms

blanket, cope, cover, covering, cloak, cover-up, curtain, hood, mantle, mask, pall, penumbra, robe, shroud, veil, wraps

Related Words

blind, concealer, screen, shield; fig leaf, Potemkin village, Trojan horse; camouflage, disguise, facade (also façade), face, mask, veneer; gloss, varnish

Rhymes with COVERTURE

amateur, aperture, armature, blackamoor, carrefour, carte du jour, coinsure, commissure, confiture, connoisseur, curvature, cynosure, embouchure, epicure, filature, forfeiture, garniture, geniture, green-manure, haute couture, immature, insecure, ligature, manicure, overture, paramour, pedicure, plat du jour, portraiture, prelature, premature, quadrature, reassure, Reaumur, reinsure, saboteur, sepulture, sequitur, signature, simon-pure, sinecure, soup du jour, tablature, temperature, to be sure, troubadour, white amur, Yom Kippur

coverture

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In law, the inclusion of a woman in the legal person of her husband upon marriage. Because of coverture, married women formerly lacked the legal capacity to hold their own property or to contract on their own behalf (see contract); similarly, a husband's tax payments or jury duty “covered” his wife as well. Aspects of coverture survived well into the 20th century; the term is still used in law when dividing jointly held property in divorce proceedings.