Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AC-CU-BA'TION, n. [L. accubatio, a reclining, from ad and cubo, to lie down. See Cube.]

A lying or reclining on a couch, as the ancients at their meals. The manner was to recline on low beds or couches with the head resting on pillow or on the elbow. Two or three men lay on one bed, the feet of one extended behind the back of another. This practice was not permitted among soldiers, children, and servants; nor was it known, until luxury had corrupted manners. – Encyc.