Couchancy

/ˈkaʊtʃənsi/ noun

Definition

The state or quality of being in a reclining or lying position, used especially in heraldry to describe an animal's posture.

Etymology

From couchant (lying down) + -cy (suffix forming nouns of state or quality), creating a noun form to describe the condition of reclining.

Kelly Says

In the formal world of heraldry, where coats of arms describe lion positions with specific vocabulary, 'couchancy' is the fancy way of saying 'that lion is lying down'—it's like how we say 'royalty' instead of 'being royal.'

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.