Couch

[kouch or for 6, 14, kooch] /kaʊtʃ or for 6, 14, kutʃ/

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 .
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.
Idioms
21.
on the couch, Informal. undergoing psychiatric or psychoanalytic treatment.
/kaʊtʃ/
noun
1.
a piece of upholstered furniture, usually having a back and armrests, for seating more than one person
2.
a bed, esp one used in the daytime by the patients of a doctor or a psychoanalyst
3.
a frame upon which barley is malted
4.
a priming layer of paint or varnish, esp in a painting
5.
(papermaking)

6.
(archaic) the lair of a wild animal
verb
7.
(transitive) to express in a particular style of language: couched in an archaic style
8.
(when transitive, usually reflexive or passive) to lie down or cause to lie down for or as for sleep
9.
(intransitive) (archaic) to lie in ambush; lurk
10.
(transitive) to spread (barley) on a frame for malting
11.
(intransitive) (of decomposing leaves) to lie in a heap or bed
12.
(transitive) to embroider or depict by couching
13.
(transitive) to lift (sheets of handmade paper) onto the board on which they will be dried
14.
(transitive) (surgery) to remove (a cataract) by downward displacement of the lens of the eye
15.
(transitive) (archaic) to lower (a lance) into a horizontal position
v.

c.1300, “to overlay with gold, inlay,” from Old French couchier “to lay down, place; go to bed, put to bed,” from Latin collocare “to lay, place, station, arrange,” from com- “together” (see com-) + locare “to place” (see locate). Meaning “to put into words” is from 1520s. Related: Couched; couching. Heraldic couchant (“lying down with the head up”) is late 15c., from the French present participle.
n.

mid-14c., from Old French couche (12c.) “a bed, lair,” from coucher “to lie down,” from Latin collocare (see couch (v.)). Traditionally, a couch has the head end only raised, and only half a back; a sofa has both ends raised and a full back; a settee is like a sofa but may be without arms; an ottoman has neither back nor arms, nor has a divan, the distinctive feature of which is that it goes against a wall. Couch potato first recorded 1979.

Related Terms

casting couch

(Gen. 49:4; 1 Chr. 5:1; Job 7:13; Ps. 6:6, etc.), a seat for repose or rest. (See BED.)