coverture

[ kuhv-er-cher ]

noun

1. a cover or covering; shelter; concealment.
2. Law. the status of a married woman considered as under the protection and authority of her husband.

coverture

/ ˈkʌvətʃə /

noun

1. law the condition or status of a married woman considered as being under the protection and influence of her husband
2. rare.
   shelter, concealment, or disguise

Word History and Origins

Origin of coverture¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French. See covert, -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of coverture¹

C13: from Old French, from covert covered; see covert

Example Sentences

The concept of “coverture,” as legal commentator William Blackstone opined, made “the husband and wife … one person under law.”

From Salon

Early American women were subject to laws steeped in coverture’s assumptions of gendered inequality, and these restrictions continued long after the United States won its independence from Britain.

From Salon

While husbands were charged with the protection of their wives under coverture, early American law and society justified the use of violence by husbands against wives, as a “moderate correction,” to enforce women’s submission and obedience.

From Salon

Married women could not own property, sign contracts, or file lawsuits under the doctrine of “coverture,” which subsumed their legal identity into that of their husband.

From Slate

The state cited congressional debates over the 14th Amendment’s impact on coverture laws that denied women equal citizenship.

From Slate