decubation
The act of lying down.
obsolete, rare, uncountable
Here we may not omit what Learned men have obſerv'd concerning the Cuſtome of Prophets and Perſons inſpir'd of old, to ſleep [...] on Matraſſes and Beds made of their Leaves, ad Conſulendum to ask adviſe of God. [...] At this decubation upon Boughs the Satyriſt ſeems to hint where he introduces the Gypſies.
Where it comes from
From Latin dēcubō (“to lie in a bed (that is not one’s own)”) + -ation (suffix indicating an action or process or its result). Dēcubō is derived from dē- (“from”) + cubō (“to lie down”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb-); compare dēcumbō (“to lie down”).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry decubation (CC BY-SA 4.0).