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coverture

noun
cov·​er·​ture | \ ˈkə-vər-ˌchu̇r How to pronounce coverture (audio) , -chər, -ˌtyu̇r, -ˌtu̇r\

Definition of coverture

1a : covering
b : shelter
2 : the status a woman acquires upon marriage under common law
Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about coverture

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Examples of coverture in a Sentence

under the coverture of a raging snowstorm, the rebels undertook their surprise attack on the fortress

Recent Examples on the Web

 Coverture also meant that a man had largely unrestrained access to his wife’s body. — Elizabeth Weingarten, The Atlantic, "Is This the End of the Crusade for Gender-Equal Curricula?," 15 June 2017 The answer partially lies in the practices of coverture, embedded in the old law of domestic relations that American colonists inherited from the British and didn’t change after the Revolution. — Elizabeth Weingarten, The Atlantic, "Is This the End of the Crusade for Gender-Equal Curricula?," 15 June 2017

First Known Use of coverture

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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More Definitions for coverture

coverture

noun
cov·​er·​ture | \ ˈkə-vər-ˌchu̇r, -chər How to pronounce coverture (audio) \

Legal Definition of coverture

: 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.

History and Etymology for coverture

Anglo-French, literally, shelter, covering, from Old French, from covert, past participle of covrir to cover

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