cuckold

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkʌ.kəʊld/, /ˈkʌ.kəld/ (UK); /ˈkʌ.koʊld/, /ˈkʌ.kəld/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English kukeweld, cokewold,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman *cucuald,^[4][5] compare Old French cucuault,^[2][3][5] from cucu “cuckoo”^[4][2][3][5] and the pejorative suffix -ault.^[2][3][5] It is related to cuckoo.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A derisive name for the husband of an unfaithful wife (before 1250).^[6][2][3]

Semantic evolution

The name alludes to the female cuckoo, which lays its eggs in other birds' nests^[4][2][5] and was said to change mates often.^[2][3] Random House suggests it was first applied to the adulterer, after the cuckoo's habit.^[5] The verb, of a wife or her lover dishonouring a husband, dates from 1589.^[6][2][3] The female equivalent cuckquean is recorded by the 1560s.^[3]

Timeline

• a1250 – the husband of an unfaithful wife.^[6][2]
• 1560s – cuckquean.^[3]
• 1589 – verb, to make a cuckold of.^[6][2]
• 1644–7 – verb, figurative, to cheat (obsolete).^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A man whose wife is unfaithful.

Verb

1. To make a cuckold of a husband by adultery.

Word family

• cuckoldly
• cuckoldry

Related words

• cuckoo
• cuckquean

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press