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Couching

 - 5 dictionary results

couch⋅ing

[kou-ching]
–noun
1. the act of a person or thing that couches.
2. a method of embroidering in which a thread, often heavy, laid upon the surface of the material, is caught down at intervals by stitches taken with another thread through the material.
3. work so made.

Origin:
1325–75; ME; see couch, -ing 1

couch

[kouch or, for 6, 14, 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)
8. to arrange or frame (words, a sentence, etc.); put into words; express: a simple request couched in respectful language.
9. to express indirectly or obscurely: the threat couched under his polite speech.
10. to lower or bend down, as the head.
11. to lower (a spear, lance, etc.) to a horizontal position, as for attack.
12. to put or lay down, as for rest or sleep; cause to lie down.
13. to lay or spread flat.
14. Papermaking. to transfer (a sheet of pulp) from the wire to the couch.
15. to embroider by couching.
16. Archaic. to hide; conceal.
–verb (used without object)
17. to lie at rest or asleep; repose; recline.
18. to crouch; bend; stoop.
19. to lie in ambush or in hiding; lurk.
20. to lie in a heap for decomposition or fermentation, as leaves.
21. on the couch, Informal. undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.

Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME couche < AF, OF, deriv. of coucher; (v.) ME couchen < AF, OF coucher, OF colcher < L collocāre to put into place, equiv. to col- col- + locāre to put, place; see locate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Couching
couch   (kouch)   
n.  
    1. A sofa.

    2. A sofa on which a patient lies while undergoing psychoanalysis or psychiatric treatment.

    3. The frame or floor on which grain, usually barley, is spread in malting.

    4. A layer of grain, usually barley, spread to germinate.

    1. The frame or floor on which grain, usually barley, is spread in malting.

    2. A layer of grain, usually barley, spread to germinate.

  1. A priming coat of paint or varnish used in artistic painting.

v.   couched, couch·ing, couch·es

v.   tr.
  1. To word in a certain manner; phrase: couched their protests in diplomatic language.

  2. To cause (oneself) to lie down, as for rest.

  3. To embroider by laying thread flat on a surface and fastening it by stitches at regular intervals.

  4. To spread (grain) on a couch to germinate, as in malting.

  5. To lower (a spear, for example) to horizontal position, as for an attack.

v.   intr.
  1. To lie down; recline, as for rest.

  2. To lie in ambush or concealment; lurk.

  3. To be in a heap or pile, as leaves for decomposition or fermentation.


[Middle English couche, from Old French culche, couche, from couchier, to lay down, lie down, from Latin collocāre; see collocate.]
couch'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

couch  (v.)
c.1330, from O.Fr. colchier, from L. collocare "to lay," from com- "together" + locare "to place." Meaning "to put into words" is from 1529. Heraldic couchant is 1496, from Fr. prp.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2couch
Function: noun
: an article of furniture used (as by a patient undergoing psychoanalysis) for sitting or reclining —on thecouch : receiving psychiatric treatment
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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