marital bed
1
5.3
- noun
- NSFW
:
cama conyugal
- On such nights, Sara lay curled by Elias's side, in my marital bed, as she liked to say to herself, and imagined that the steps of her house led infallibly down to the sea.
Examples
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Victor Travesti signaled his stop and rose, thinking of his wife and two boys and the Irishman who now lived with them, sleeping in bed with the woman who had pledged herself to Victor at the altar of God, sharing her marital bed in the same house where his children slept, eating food at the table with them.
Fiction book (1998) -
My father lit a cigar, and I wondered whether he too sometimes took the bottom place in the marital bed.
Fiction book (1999) -
As far as she was concerned, her marital bed was none of their business.
Fiction book (1999) -
Beth led Fowler to her room, to the bed that had once been the marital bed.
Academic text (2007) -
And, I am sorry to say, but any woman or man who strays from the marital bed is slutting around.
Blog text (11) -
A cheerful guy, he orders an extra-fine bottle of wine; and what he really wants to do, it appears, is tell them his story of how William Empson, in Hong Kong before the war, arranged for Mrs. Empson to give him his first experience, even leading him by hand to the marital bed itself.
Fiction book (1999) -
After years of marriage, they still cherished their shared moments in the marital bed.
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The couple decided to redecorate their marital bed to celebrate their anniversary.
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Despite their disagreements, they found comfort and intimacy in their marital bed.
Synonyms
3
3.7
A bed that married people share
1
3.5
A connection between two people who are married
Antonyms
How Intimate
- NSFW
1
5.3
- Literature
- Neologism
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'marital' (relating to marriage) and 'bed' (sleeping furniture), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer it refers to the married couple's bed. However, the extended, symbolic sense referring to the couple's relationship or sexual intimacy goes beyond the purely literal composition and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without exposure. Cross-linguistic equivalents (e.g. 'lecho conyugal') exist, supporting partial but not complete transparency.
Etymology
Marital bed comes from the simple picture of a married couple's marital bed, the private place where they sleep, talk, and are close to each other. So, Marital bed came to mean the couple's private life or 'relationship', not just the piece of furniture.