# couch

Pronunciation: US/AUS say "KOWCH" /kaʊt͡ʃ/; UK

## Noun

1. A piece of furniture, usually upholstered, made for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa. *(Australia, Canada, Ireland, US)*
   - Simple: A long, soft seat made for two or more people to sit on.
   - _She curled up on the couch with a book and a warm blanket._
   - _They pushed the two couches together to make more room for guests._
3. Psychotherapy, the treatment of emotional or mental difficulties through talking with a therapist.
   - Simple: Treatment where you talk to a therapist about your feelings and problems.
   - _After a decade on the couch, he finally confronted the roots of his depression._
   - _Some patients credit the couch with breakthroughs no medication could deliver._
4. A bed, or any place used for lying down and resting.
   - Simple: A bed or other place where you lie down to rest or sleep.
   - _He rose from his couch at first light to tend the fire._
   - _They prepared a couch of soft moss for the wounded soldier._
6. Voters who choose not to vote, typically by staying home instead of going to the polls.
   - Simple: People who choose not to vote, often by staying home on election day.
   - _Strategists blamed the loss on the couch, the voters who simply never showed up._
   - _Mobilizing the couch became the campaign's single biggest priority._
7. A persistent grass, Elymus repens, that spreads through underground stems and is usually treated as a weed.
   - Simple: A tough wild grass that spreads fast and is hard to clear from gardens.
   - _Farmers dread couch because its roots survive plowing and resprout within days._
   - _A patch of couch can colonize an entire lawn in a single season._
14. The den of an otter.
   - Simple: The home or resting place of an otter.
   - _The naturalist sketched the otter's couch tucked beneath the overhanging bank._
   - _Each couch lay close to the river, lined with dry reeds._
17. An initial coating of paint, size, or a similar material, laid down before further layers are added.
   - Simple: A first layer of paint or glue put down before the rest.
   - _The restorer found an early couch of red beneath the surface layers._
   - _Gilders lay down a couch of size so the gold leaf will adhere._
18. A mass of steeped barley spread on a floor to germinate in malting, or the floor the barley occupies.
   - Simple: A pile of soaked barley spread on a floor to sprout when making malt.
   - _Workers spread the steeped grain into a couch across the malting floor._
   - _The couch warmed as the barley began to germinate._

## Verb

2. To express something in a particular style or with a specific choice of words.
   - Simple: To say or write something using a certain choice of words.
   - _The minister couched the bad news in carefully chosen phrases._
   - _Diplomats often couch their threats as friendly suggestions._
5. To lie down or recline, as on a bed or other place of rest.
   - Simple: To lie down and rest on a bed or other comfortable place.
   - _The deer couched among the tall grass to escape the midday heat._
   - _Travelers would couch wherever they could find shelter for the night._
8. To lay something upon a bed or other place of rest.
   - Simple: To lay something down on a bed or other resting place.
   - _The nurse couched the injured man upon a low bed of straw._
   - _Servants would couch their lord upon cushions after the feast._
9. To arrange or set things out as though laying them in a bed.
   - Simple: To arrange or place things neatly, as if laying them in a bed.
   - _The gardener couched the bulbs side by side in the prepared soil._
   - _Masons couch each stone so that it nests against the next._
10. To lay or deposit something in a bed or layer.
   - Simple: To lay or set something down in a bed or flat layer.
   - _The cook couched the fillets on a bed of sliced lemon before roasting._
   - _They couch the seedbed compost in even layers before sowing._
11. To lower the body by bending or stooping, as in reverence, pain, or hard labor.
   - Simple: To bend or lower your body, as when bowing, in pain, or crouching down.
   - _Mourners couch before the shrine, their foreheads nearly touching the floor._
   - _He couched in agony as the cramp seized his leg._
12. To bring a spear or lance down into position for attacking.
   - Simple: To lower a spear or lance and hold it ready to attack.
   - _The knight couched his lance and spurred his horse toward the barrier._
   - _Cavalrymen couch their lances in the final stride before impact._
15. In embroidery, to fasten a thread to the surface of fabric with small stitches so as to add texture.
   - Simple: To fix a thread onto cloth with tiny stitches to give it texture.
   - _The embroiderer couched a thick silk cord around the design's border._
   - _Skilled needleworkers couch metallic threads onto velvet to build raised patterns._
16. In papermaking, to move a sheet of partly dried pulp from the wire mold onto a felt blanket so that it can dry further.
   - Simple: To move a sheet of wet paper pulp from its mold onto a cloth to dry.
   - _After draining the mold, she couched the new sheet onto a woolen felt._
   - _Apprentices couch the freshly formed sheets onto felts before pressing._
19. To treat a cataract by displacing the opaque lens of the eye with a sharp object such as a needle.
   - Simple: To push the clouded lens of the eye out of the way with a needle.
   - _The itinerant oculist couched the cataract, pressing the lens down out of the way._
   - _Before modern surgery, physicians would couch the lens to clear the patient's vision._

## Verb

13. To lie down for concealment; to lie hidden, or to be secretly involved or contained in something. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To lie hidden, keeping low and out of sight.
   - _The fox couched among the reeds, unseen by the hounds._
   - _Smugglers couch in the shadows of the cove until the patrol moves on._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–4, 6, 14, 17–18** — From Middle English 'couche', from Old French 'couche', which came from the related verb. It is a doublet of 'cwtch'.
**Meanings 2, 5, 8–13, 15–16, 19** — From Middle English 'couchen', from Old French '(se) couchier' meaning 'go to bed, lay down', from Latin 'collocāre' ('set in place'), formed from 'com-' ('together, with') plus 'locāre'. It is a doublet of 'collocate'.
**Meaning 7** — From a variant of 'quitch', from Middle English 'quich', 'quyke', from Old English 'cwice'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/couch (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).