couch

[ kouch kooch ]

noun

1. a piece of furniture for seating from two to four people, typically in the form of a bench with a back, sometimes having an armrest at one or each end, and partly or wholly upholstered and often fitted with springs, tailored cushions, skirts, etc.; sofa.
2. a similar article of furniture, with a headrest at one end, on which some patients of psychiatrists or psychoanalysts lie while undergoing treatment.
3. a bed or other place of rest; a lounge; any place used for repose.
4. the lair of a wild beast.
5. Brewing. the frame on which barley is spread to be malted.
6. Papermaking. the board or felt blanket on which wet pulp is laid for drying into paper sheets.
7. Fine Arts. a primer coat or layer, as of paint.

verb (used with object)

1. to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; express:

   a simple request couched in respectful language.

2. to express indirectly or obscurely:

   the threat couched under his polite speech.

3. to lower or bend down, as the head.
4. to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.
5. to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep; cause to lie down.
6. to lay or spread flat.
7. Papermaking. to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.
8. to embroider by couching.
9. Archaic. to hide; conceal.

verb (used without object)

1. to lie at rest or asleep; repose; recline.
2. to crouch; bend; stoop.
3. to lie in ambush or in hiding; lurk.
4. to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.

couch

/ kaʊtʃ /

noun

1. a piece of upholstered furniture, usually having a back and armrests, for seating more than one person
2. a bed, esp one used in the daytime by the patients of a doctor or a psychoanalyst
3. a frame upon which barley is malted
4. a priming layer of paint or varnish, esp in a painting
5. papermaking
   1. a board on which sheets of handmade paper are dried by pressing
   2. a felt blanket onto which sheets of partly dried paper are transferred for further drying
   3. a roll on a papermaking machine from which the wet web of paper on the wire is transferred to the next section
6. archaic.
   the lair of a wild animal

verb

1. tr to express in a particular style of language

   couched in an archaic style

2. when tr, usually reflexive or passive to lie down or cause to lie down for or as for sleep
3. archaic.
   intr to lie in ambush; lurk
4. tr to spread (barley) on a frame for malting
5. intr (of decomposing leaves) to lie in a heap or bed
6. tr to embroider or depict by couching
7. tr to lift (sheets of handmade paper) onto the board on which they will be dried
8. tr surgery to remove (a cataract) by downward displacement of the lens of the eye
9. archaic.
   tr to lower (a lance) into a horizontal position

Derived Forms

• ˈcoucher, noun

Other Words From

• well-couched adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of couch¹

1300–50; (noun) Middle English couche < Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of coucher; (v.) Middle English couchen < Anglo-French, Old French coucher, Old French colcher < Latin collocāre to put into place, equivalent to col- col- ¹ + locāre to put, place; locate

Word History and Origins

Origin of couch¹

C14: from Old French couche a bed, lair, from coucher to lay down, from Latin collocāre to arrange, from locāre to place; see locate

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the couch, Informal. undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.

Example Sentences

I watch every episode alone on my couch and I just sit there and laugh, and laugh.

From The Daily Beast

In short, we found ways to couch messages of failure or inadequacy.

From The Daily Beast

With the first set I did, the colors of the couch determined that the rest of it would be blue and yellow and white.

From The Daily Beast

A worn couch sitting squarely before a wood veneer wall, accented by the head of a deer.

From The Daily Beast

Most people know the Universal Life Church as a quick and easy place to get ordained without leaving your couch.

From The Daily Beast

Hys ignored the acid tone of her answer and sat down on the couch next to them.

From Project Gutenberg

Le 134 defunct estoit couch sur vn ais appuy de quatre fourches, & fut couvert de peaux.

From Project Gutenberg

She adds that it was an adult male in full plumage, and that she saw it herself at Mr. Couch's shop.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Couch records one in the 'Zoologist' for 1874 as having been killed at Cobo on the 28th of September of that year.

From Project Gutenberg

I see, however, no reason to doubt Mr. Couch's statement in the 'Zoologist,' as the bird was brought into his shop.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bed
• chair
• lounge