Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
couchant

couchant

1 9.9
An animal lying on the ground with head raised and front legs stretched forward
  • adjective
  • /ˈkaʊtʃənt/
  • Archaic
: acostado
  • In the heraldic design, the couchant fox symbolized vigilance and readiness.

Examples

  • The statue of the dog was designed to appear couchant, elegantly posed with its head raised and front legs forward.

  • Crescent moons, portcullises, beasts couchant and rampant, bars, bezants...

    On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

  • The lion was depicted in the coat of arms as a couchant figure, resting on its forelegs with its head held high.

Synonyms

accumbent
vscouchant
  • Archaic
9.9

Lying down and resting on a surface like a bed or the ground

is a specific animal pose with head raised and forelegs extended forward

Surface Forms

couchant positive

Morphology

couchant = couch (opaque) = couch + ant

Although formed from 'couch' + '-ant', the adjective is a borrowing used in specialized heraldic contexts and the suffixation is not a productive, transparent English derivation for most learners.

Etymology

Couchant comes from the Old French word coucher, meaning 'to lie down', and is the same root as the English word couch. So in heraldry a couchant animal is shown lying on the ground with its head raised.