cuckold English · revision 2065

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkʌ.kəʊld/, /ˈkʌ.kəld/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkʌ.koʊld/, /ˈkʌ.kəld/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''kukeweld'', ''cokewold'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(AHD) borrowed from Anglo-Norman ''*cucuald'',^(AHD)^(RHWU) compare [[fro|cucuault]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from ''cucu'' “cuckoo”^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) and the pejorative suffix ''-ault''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It is related to [[cuckoo]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A derisive name for the husband of an unfaithful wife (before 1250).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name alludes to the female cuckoo, which lays its eggs in other birds' nests^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) and was said to change mates often.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Random House suggests it was first applied to the adulterer, after the cuckoo's habit.^(RHWU) The verb, of a wife or her lover dishonouring a husband, dates from 1589.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The female equivalent ''cuckquean'' is recorded by the 1560s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1250 – the husband of an unfaithful wife.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1560s – ''cuckquean''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1589 – verb, to make a cuckold of.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1644–7 – verb, figurative, to cheat (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A man whose wife is unfaithful.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a cuckold of a husband by adultery.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cuckoldly]]

+ * [[cuckoldry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cuckoo]]

+ * [[cuckquean]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}