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cuckold - 5 dictionary results
cuck⋅old
[kuhk-uh
ld]
–noun
| 1. | the husband of an unfaithful wife. |
–verb (used with object)
| 2. | to make a cuckold of (a husband). |
Origin:
1200–50; ME cukeweld, later cok(k)ewold, cukwold < AF *cucuald (cf. MF cucuault), equiv. to OF cocu cuckoo + -ald, -alt pejorative suffix (see ribald ); appar. orig. applied to an adulterer, in allusion to the cuckoo's habit of laying its eggs in other birds' nests
1200–50; ME cukeweld, later cok(k)ewold, cukwold < AF *cucuald (cf. MF cucuault), equiv. to OF cocu cuckoo + -ald, -alt pejorative suffix (see ribald ); appar. orig. applied to an adulterer, in allusion to the cuckoo's habit of laying its eggs in other birds' nests

Related forms:
cuck⋅old⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To cuckold
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cuckold
Cuck"old\ (k?k"?ld), n. [OE. kukeweld, cokewold, cokold, fr. OF. coucoul, cucuault, the last syllable being modified by the OE. suffix -wold (see Herald); cf. F. cocu a cuckold, formerly also, a cuckoo, and L. cuculus a cuckoo. The word alludes to the habit of the female cuckoo, who lays her eggs in the nests of other birds, to be hatched by them.]1. A man whose wife is unfaithful; the husband of an adulteress. --Shak. 2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A West Indian plectognath fish (Ostracion triqueter). (b) The cowfish.Cuckold
Cuck"old\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cuckolded; p. pr. & vb. n. Cuckolding.] To make a cuckold of, as a husband, by seducing his wife, or by her becoming an adulteress. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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cuckold
c.1250, from O.Fr. cucuault, from cucu (see cuckoo) + pejorative suffix. So called from the female bird's alleged habit of changing mates, or her authentic habit of leaving eggs in another bird's nest. The verb is 1589, from the noun.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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