: 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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Brennan thinks hormonal study could be the most fruitful research area for trying to explain couvade.
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Ariel Ramchandani, The Atlantic, 3 June 2021
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Ariel Ramchandani, The Atlantic, 3 June 2021
Cite this Entry
“Couvade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/couvade. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
couvade
noun
cou·vade
kü-ˈväd 
1
: 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
2
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