cuckold

[ kuhk-uh ld ]

/ ˈkʌk əld /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cuckold ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the husband of an unfaithful wife.

verb (used with object)

to make a cuckold of (a husband).

Nearby words

Origin of cuckold

1200–50; Middle English cukeweld, later cok(k)ewold, cukwold < Anglo-French *cucuald (compare Middle French cucuault), equivalent to Old French cocu cuckoo + -ald, -alt pejorative suffix (see ribald); apparently orig. applied to an adulterer, in allusion to the cuckoo's habit of laying its eggs in other birds' nests

Related formscuck·old·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cuckold

By definition, of course, a cuckold is the “husband of an adulteress.”
The Cuckolding Fetish: When Your Wife’s Cheating Turns You On|Aurora Snow|February 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He replied, sitting down to table: "Exactly, and there is nothing in the way of it now that cuckold of a Forestier is dead."
The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Vol. 6|Guy de Maupassant
I knew what I was about, and did not fear to be made a cuckold in spite of myself.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
The character of cuckold is indelible: who once has it carries it to his grave; the punishment proclaims it more than the fault.
The Essays of Montaigne, Complete|Michel de Montaigne

And did she not make you a more worshipful thing,—a cuckold!
The Works of John Marston|John Marston
Stands candidate for cuckold, and if he miss of it, it is none of his fault, for his merit is sufficiently known.
Character Writings of the 17th Century|Various

British Dictionary definitions for cuckold

cuckold

/ (ˈkʌkəld) /

noun

a man whose wife has committed adultery, often regarded as an object of scorn

verb

(tr) to make a cuckold of

Derived Formscuckoldry, noun

Word Origin for cuckold

C13 cukeweld, from Old French cucuault, from cucu cuckoo; perhaps an allusion to the parasitic cuckoos that lay their eggs in the nests of other birds

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 cuckold

cuckold

mid-13c., kukewald, from Old French cucuault, from cocu (see cuckoo) + pejorative suffix -ault, of Germanic origin. So called from the female bird's alleged habit of changing mates, or her authentic habit of leaving eggs in another bird's nest.

In Modern French the identity is more obvious: Coucou for the bird and cocu for the betrayed husband. German Hahnrei (13c.), from Low German, is of obscure origin. The second element seems to be connected to words for "ardent," and suggests perhaps "sexually aggressive hen," with transferal to humans, but Kluge suggests rather a connection to words for "capon" and "castrated." Related: Cuckoldry.

cuckold

1580s, from cuckold (n.). Related: Cuckolded; cuckolding.

cuckold

noun

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of cuckold

Examples from the Web for cuckold

cuckold

noun

verb

Word Origin for cuckold

cuckold

cuckold