couching 
or other figure, anil fastened down by stitches of finer 
material. Kaised couching is made l>y sewing twine or 
similar material to the ground, and then laying the em- 
broidery-silk upon it, producing a patteni in relief. Bas- 
ket couching is a raised couching in which the texture of 
basket-work is imitated. Diamond couching and diago- 
nal couching are made by laying threads of floss-silk or 
chenille side by side, and holding them down by threads 
of different material, in stitches which form a diamond 
pattern or zigzags ; the angles of this pattern are some- 
times marked by a spangle or other glittering object. 
Shell couching is similar, the stitches that hold it taking 
tile lines of scallop-shells. In spider couching and wheel 
couching the stitches form radiating lines resembling the 
spokes of a wheel or the radii of a cobweb. 
couching 2 (kou'ching), . [Verbal n. of cowcft 2 , 
.] In agri., the operation of clearing land 
from couch-grass. 
COUChing-needle (kou'ching-ne"dl), n. A nee- 
dle-like surgical instrument used in the opera- 
tion of couching. 
COUChless (kouch'les), a. [< couch 1 , n., + -less.'] 
Having no couch or bed. 
coucumbert. n. See cucumber. 
COUd 1 !, COudeM. [Preterit of can 1 .] Obsolete 
forms of could. 
COUd 2 t, COUde 2 t. [Past participle of con 1 .] Same 
as cou tli. 
I sey not that she ne had knowynge 
What harme was, or clles she 
Had koitd no good, so thenketh me. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 997. 
COUde 3 (kod), . [F., elbow, = Pr. code = Sp. 
codo, coto = Pg. cubito = It. cuoito, < L. cubi- 
tum. the elbow: see cubit.'] Same as coucliere. 
coude (ko-da'), a. [F., pp. of couder, bend at 
right angles, < coude, elbow: see coude 3 ."] Bent 
at right angles : applied to a transit instrument 
or altazimuth having a totally refracting prism 
inserted in the tube of the telescope, so as to 
carry the rays through one half of the horizon- 
tal axis, at the end of which the eyepiece is 
placed. 
coudiere (ko-di-ar'), [F-> < coude, elbow : see 
coude'J.] The piece of armor which protected 
the elbow. Specifically (a) A piece of forged iron 
having the shape of a blnnt cone with slightly rounded 
surface, or of beehive shape, adjusted to the elbow over 
the sleeve of the hauberk or gambeson, and secured by 
straps or the like, (u) When the brassart had reached 
tolerably complete development, that part of it which 
protected the elbow behind and at the sides. The shape 
of this varied greatly at different times. Also coude. 
COUdou, n. See koodoo. G. Cuvier. 
cou6 (ko'a), n. [F. coue, ult. < L. cauda, tail: 
see cauda.] In her., same as coward, 2. 
COUgar (ko'gar), n. [Also couguar, cougouar 
(after F.), cuguar = F. couguar = Sp. cuguardo 
= G. Dan. kuguar, etc. ; contr. of native South 
Amer. name cuguacuara. cuguacuarana.] A 
large concolorous feline carnivorous quadruped 
Cougar (f-'elis <wi<W<?r). From a photograph by Dixon, London. 
peculiar to America, Felis concolor, belonging 
to the family FeMa; and order Fern, it is about as 
large as the jaguar, but is longer-limbed, and is not so 
heavy in body. A not unusual weight is 80 pounds; the 
length over all is about 80 inches, of which the head and 
body are 50 inches and the tail 30 inches, the standing 
height at the shoulders 29 inches, and the girth of the chest 
27 inches ; the color is uniformly tawny, whitening on the 
under parts, and the tip of the tail is black. This great cat 
bears much resemblance to an ungrown lioness. It is noted 
as having the most extensive latitudinal range of any of 
the Fetidce, its habitat extending from British America to 
Patagonia. It was formerly common in wooded and espe- 
cially mountainous parts of the United States, and is still 
1298 
sometimes found in the east, though now most common 
in the Kocky Mountains and other mountains of the west. 
Also called puma, 'panther or "painter," red tiger, moun- 
tain lion, American lion, and catamount. 
COUgh 1 (kof), v. [< ME. coughen, cowghen, coghen, 
couwen, kowhen, etc., in AS. with added forma- 
tive cohhetan, cough (cf. ceahhetau, laugh), = 
D. kugchen, cough, = MHG. kitchen, G. keichen, 
keuchen, gasp, pant, G. dial, kuchen, kogen, 
cough ; prob. imitative, and related to kink 2 = 
chink'*, chincough, etc. The final guttural gh 
has produced mod. /; cf . draft, dwarf, quaff.'] 
I. intrans. To make a more or less violent ef- 
fort, accompanied with noise, to expel the air 
from the respiratory organs, and force out any 
matterthat irritates the air-passages, or renders 
respiration difficult. 
Smoke and smolder smyteth in his eyen, 
Til he be blere-nyed or blynde and liors in the thrpte, 
Cougheth, and curseth. Piers Plowman (B), xvii. 325. 
Thou hast quarrelled with a man for coughing in the 
street. Shak., R. and J., iii. 1. 
II. trans. To expel from the air-passages by 
a more or less violent effort with noise and 
usually with expectoration: followed by up : as, 
to cough up phlegm To cough down, to stop, as an 
unpopular or tedious speaker, by simulated coughing. 
COUgh 1 (k6f), n. [< ME. cough, cowghe, cotee = 
D. kuch, a cough ; from the verb.] An abrupt and 
more or less violent and noisy expiration, ex- 
cited by some irritation of the respiratory or- 
gans. It is an effort to drive out with the expelled breath 
secreted or foreign matters accumulated in the air-pas- 
sages. The violent action of the muscles serving for ex- 
piration gives great force to the air, while the contraction 
of the glottis produces the sound. A cough is partly volun- 
tary and partly involuntary, and, according to its character, 
is symptomatic of many bronchial, pulmonary, nervous, 
and other diseases, often of comparatively slight impor- 
tance. 
Adepts in the speaking trade 
Keep a cough by them ready made. Churchill. 
COUgh 2 ti ' t. [Appar. another spelling and use 
of coff, buy. By some supposed to be developed 
from coffer. ~] To lay up for; store as in a coffer. 
[Rare.] 
If every man that hath beguiled the king should make 
restitution after this sort, it would cough the king twenty 
thousand pounds. 
Latimer, 2d Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1550. 
COUgher (k6'fer), n. One who coughs, 
coughing (ko'fing), n. [Verbal n. of cough 1 , r.] 
A violent and sonorous effort to expel the air 
from the lungs. 
Coughing drowns the parson's saw. 
Shak., L. L L., v. 2 (song). 
Any wandering of the eyes, or of the mind, a coughing, 
or the like, answering a question, or any action not pre- 
scribed to be performed, must be strictly avoided. 
E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, I. 92. 
COUghwort (kof 'wert), n. [A translation of the 
L. name tussilago (< tussis, cough) and the Gr. 
name {tqx' 01> (< /^7f (/3>?*-)> cough).] A name 
given to the coltsfoot, Tussilago Farfara, from 
its use in allaying coughs. 
COUgnar (kog'nar), . [Malay.] A three-masted 
Malay boat, rigged with square sails. It is broad, 
sits low in the water, may be decked or open, sails well, 
and carries a large cargo. 
cougouar, couguar (kS'gij-ar), . Same as cou- 
gar. 
COUhage, See cowhage. 
Couinae (kij-i'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Coua, 2, + 
-ina;.] A subfamily of cuckoos, typified by the 
genus Coua, peculiar to Madagascar. Less cor- 
rectly written Couance. G. R. Gray, 1870. 
coult, . See cowl 1 , cowl 2 . 
could (kud). [The I has been improperly in- 
troduced into this word after the assumed 
analogj of would and should, where the I, though 
now silent, is historically correct. The his- 
torical orthography is coud, < ME. coude, < AS. 
cuthe: see further under can 1 .] Preterit of 
caw 1 . 
COU.16 (k6-la' ), n. [F., a slide, orig. pp. of couler, 
slide: see colan- 
der.'] innmsic: 
(a) A slur. (6) 
An ornament 
in harpsichord- 
music; a kind 
of appoggiatura. Also called dash, (c) A 
gliding step in dancing. 
coulee (ko-la'), n. [F., orig. pp. fern, of couler, 
flow, filter: see colander.'] 1. A dry ravine or 
gulch; a channel worn by running water in 
times of excessive rainfall or by the sudden 
melting of the snow. It is a word frequently heard 
in Montana, Dakota, and the adjacent regions, and is a 
relic of the former temporary occupation of that part of 
the country by the employees of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany. Also coulee, coulie. 
Written. 
council 
The deep coulees or ravines that, cutting through the 
rounded spurs of the hills, run down to the edge of the 
trail. Hai-]n;-' Hay., LXXI. 192. 
2. A flow: used principally, by some geologists, 
of lava-flows. 
COUleur (ko-ler'), n. [F., color: see color, n.] 
1. In the game of solo, a name for any selected 
suit of cards, bids in which are of twice as much 
value as in any other suit. 2. In the game of 
ombre, a suit composed of spades Couleur de 
rose I F. : couleur, color ; de, < L. de, of ; roue, a rose : see 
color, n., and roue], literally, rose-color ; hence, as an ad- 
verbial phrase, in an attractive aspect ; in a favorable 
light : as, to see everything couleur de roue. 
We are not disposed to draw a picture couleur de rose of 
the condition of our people, any mure than we are willing 
to accept our author's silhouette en noir. 
W. Ji. Greg, Misc. Essays, 2d ser., p. 143. 
coulisse (ko-leV), n. [F., a groove, slide, side 
scene, running-string, etc., < cottier, glide, slide : 
see cullis 2 .] 1. A piece of channeled or grooved 
timber, as one of the slides in which the side 
scenes of a theater run, the upright post of a 
flood-gate or sluice, etc. See cullis 2 . Hence 
2. One of the side scenes of the stage in a 
theater, or the space included between the side 
scenes. 
Capable of nothing higher than coulisses and cigars, 
private theatricals and white kid gloves. tiiugitley. 
3. A flute or groove on the blade of a sword. 
COUllart, n. A medieval military engine, ap- 
parently an early form of bombard. 
couloir (ko-lwor'), . [F., < couler, glide, slide, 
run : see colander.] A steeply ascending gorge 
or gully : applied especially to gorges near the 
Alpine summits. 
Our noble couloir, which led straight up into the heart 
of the mountain for fully one thousand feet. E. Whymper. 
coulomb (ko-lom'), . [From C. A. de Coulomb, 
a French physicist (1736-1806).] The unit of 
quantity in measurements of current electri- 
city; the quantity furnished by a current of 
one ampere in one second. See ampere. 
The name of coulomb is to be given to the unit of quan- 
tity, called in these lessons "one weber." 
S. P. Thompson, Elect, and Mag., p. 410. 
coulomb-meter (ko-lom'me ;i 'ter), n. An instru- 
ment for measuring in coulombs the quantity 
of electricity which passes through a conductor 
in a given time. One form of the instrument is based 
upon the amount of electrolytic action, as in depositing 
metallic copper from copper sulphate, performed by a 
branch current which is a known fraction of the main cur- 
rent in use. 
coulter, n. See colter. 
coulure (ko-lur'), n. [F., a dropping, falling 
off, running out, < couler, flow, run, slide : see 
colander.] Sterility in plants, or failure to pro- 
duce fruit after blossoming, owing to the wash- 
ing away of the pollen by excessive rains. 
coumaric (ko'ma-rik), a. [< coiiniar(in) + -ic.] 
Derived from of pertaining to coumarin Cou- 
maric acid, CgHgOu, an acid derived from conmarin, 
and intimately related to salicylic acid, being converted 
into the latter by fusion with potassium hydrate. 
coumarilic (ko-ma-ril'ik), a. [< co-umar(in) + 
-il + -ic.] Derived from coumarin Couma- 
rilic acid, CgHgOs, a monobasic acid obtained from cou- 
marin. It is moderately soluble in water and extremely 
soluble in alcohol. 
coumarin, coumarine (ko'ma-rin), n. [< cou- 
marou -t- -lift, -iue%.] A vegetable proximate 
principle (C9HgO2) obtained from the Dipleryx 
(Coumarouna) odorata or Tonka bean, and also 
occurring in melilot and some other plants, to 
which it gives its characteristic odor, it has been 
used in medicine, and it gives flavor to the Swiss cheese 
called schabzietjer. Also spelled cumarin. 
COUmarou (ko'ma-ro), n. [The French repre- 
sentation of the native name.] The Tonka- 
bean tree, Dipleryx (Coumarouna) odorata. 
council (koun'sil), n. [Early confused in sense 
and spelling with the different word counsel (as 
also councilor with counselor), the separation 
being modern; early mod. E. also comicel, COIIH- 
cell, < ME. counceil, counceill, counseil, cownselle, 
consail, consatjle, coticell, etc., an assembly for 
consultation, < OF. concilc, concire, cuncilie, F. 
candle = Pr. concili = Sp. Pg. concilia = It. con- 
cilio, formerly also conciglio, < L. concilium, an 
assembly, esp. an assembly for consultation, a 
council, < com-, together, + (prob.)ratorc, call: 
see calends. Hence (from L. concilium) concili- 
ate, etc. Cf. counsel.] 1. Any assembly of per- 
sons summoned or convened for consultation, 
deliberation, or advice : as, a council of physi- 
cians ; a family council. 
The happiness of a Nation mnst needs be tinnrst and 
certaiuest in a full and free Council uf thir own electing, 
where no single Person, but Reason only, sways. 
Milton, Five riijimiomvr;ilth. 
