couching
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couch
(kouch)n.
1.
a. A sofa.
b. A sofa on which a patient lies while undergoing psychoanalysis or psychiatric treatment.
2.
a. The frame or floor on which grain, usually barley, is spread in malting.
b. A layer of grain, usually barley, spread to germinate.
3. 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.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
couching
(ˈkaʊtʃɪŋ)n
(Knitting & Sewing)
a. a method of embroidery in which the thread is caught down at intervals by another thread passed through the material from beneath
b. a pattern or work done by this method
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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