Legal Dictionary
Main Entry:
cov·er·turePronunciation:
'k&-v&r-"chur, -ch&rFunction:
nounEtymology: Anglo-French, literally, shelter, covering, from Old French, from
covert, past participle of
covrir to cover
: the inclusion of a woman in the legal person of her husband upon marriage under common law
NOTE: Because of coverture, married women formerly did not have the legal capacity to hold their own property or contract on their own behalf. These disabilities have been removed for the most part by statute.