Etymologically
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cuckold

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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

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