cloud-cuckoo-land
[ kloud-koo-koo-land, -koo k-oo- ]
/ ˈklaʊdˌku kuˌlænd, -ˌkʊk u- /
noun
an idealized, illusory domain of imagination; cloudland: the cloud-cuckoo-land of technicolor cartoon whimsy.
RELATED CONTENT
Made-Up Words: Twitter’s Favorite Family MalapropismsJust about every family has a word that makes sense only to them. There's even an official term for this phenomenon: malapropism, a noun that means "an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound." So, we asked Dictionary.com fans to share some of their favorite family malapropisms and explain their backstories.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
cloud physics, cloud rack, cloud seeding, cloud-capped, cloud-cuckoo land, cloud-cuckoo-land, cloudage, cloudberry, cloudbow, cloudburst, clouded
Origin of cloud-cuckoo-land
1815–25; translation of Greek Nephelokokkȳgía, the realm which separates the gods from mankind in Aristophanes' The Birds
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for cloud cuckoo land
cloud-cuckoo-land
cloudland
/ (ˈklaʊdˌlænd) /
noun
a realm of fantasy, dreams, or impractical notions
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cloud cuckoo land
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Imaginary city built in air, translating Aristophanes' Nephelokokkygia in "The Birds" (414 B.C.E.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper