küˈväd noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from Middle French, cowardly inactivity, from couver, cover to sit on (as a female bird on eggs), brood over + -ade — more at covey
: a custom among primitive peoples in many parts of the world in accordance with which when a child is born the father takes to his bed as if he himself had suffered the pains of childbirth, cares for the child, and submits himself to fasting, purification, or various taboos