cuckoo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkʊkuː/ (UK); /ˈkuku/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English cuccu, cokkou,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from or influenced by Old French cucu, cocu (“cuckoo; cuckold”) (modern French coucou),^[3][4][6][7] imitating the call of the male bird.^[2][3][4][5] Compare Ancient Greek κόκκυξ (kókkux), Latin cucūlus, Sanskrit कोकिल (kokila), Middle Irish cúach and Welsh cog, all imitative.^[4][7][8][9] The Old English name of the bird was Old English ġēac, cognate with Old Norse gaukr and German Gauch (“fool”).^[4][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The bird Cuculus canorus, named after the male's mating call (c. 1240 in the OED; before 1300 in Barnhart; c. 1300 in Etymonline), and its call (c. 1240).^[11][3][4] It appears as a surname, Kuku, in 1191.^[3]

Semantic evolution

By 1581 the word was applied to a person, especially a foolish one, with reference to the bird's monotonous call or its habit of laying eggs in other birds' nests.^[11][3][4] An unwelcome intruder is a cuckoo in the nest (early 17th century).^[12] The verb, to repeat incessantly like the cuckoo's call, dates from 1648,^[11][5] and the adjective, “of or like a cuckoo”, from 1627.^[3][5] The slang adjective “crazy” is American, from 1918.^[11][3][4] The word cuckold also comes from the bird.^[12][13]

Timeline

• 1191 – the surname Kuku.^[3]
• c. 1240 – the bird and its call.^[11]
• 1581 – a foolish person.^[11][3]
• 1627 – adjective, of or like a cuckoo.^[3][5]
• 1648 – verb, to repeat incessantly.^[11][5]
• 1918 – adjective, crazy (American slang).^[11][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A greyish European bird, Cuculus canorus, with a two-note call, which lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.
2. Any bird of the family Cuculidae, such as the roadrunner.
3. The call of the cuckoo, or an imitation of it.
4. (informal) A foolish or crazy person.

Verb

1. To repeat over and over, as the cuckoo does its call.
2. To make the call of the cuckoo.

Adjective

1. (informal) Lacking in sense; foolish or crazy.

Word family

• cloud-cuckoo-land
• cuckooflower
• cuckoo clock
• yellow-billed cuckoo
• cuckoo spit
• black-billed cuckoo
• cuckoo wasp

Related words

• cuckold
• coccyx
• gowk

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
13. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul