couver

to brood, to incubate

verb koo-VEH Rare

Also means

to be brewing (of trouble)

Usage Note

Couver is used literally of a bird sitting on eggs and figuratively of something smouldering beneath the surface. Couver une maladie means to be coming down with an illness. Couver quelqu'un des yeux ('to watch someone with a doting gaze') is an idiomatic expression for overprotective affection. The related noun is une couvée (a clutch of eggs or a brood of chicks).

Examples

"La poule couve ses œufs depuis une semaine."

Natural Translation

The hen has been brooding her eggs for a week.

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