cuckold

American  

[kuhk-uhld] / ˈkʌk əld /

noun

1. the husband of an unfaithful wife.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a cuckold of (a husband).

cuckold British  

/ ˈkʌkəld /

noun

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

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verb

1. (tr) to make a cuckold of

Other Word Forms

• cuckoldly adverb
• cuckoldry noun

Etymology

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 ( ribald ); apparently originally applied to an adulterer, in allusion to the cuckoo's habit of laying its eggs in other birds' nests

Explanation

A cuckold is a man who has been betrayed by his wife. If your wife cuckolds you, she is cheating on you with a different man. This is an old-fashioned word you can find in many Shakespeare plays, though cuckolding is certainly older than Shakespeare and will always exist as long as there are marriages. A man can't cuckold a woman: only a wife can cuckold her husband. By sleeping with another man, she makes her husband a cuckold.

Example Sentences

And as Martin, Whishaw is as Britishly brittle-yet-vulnerable as only he can be, the stoic, sad-eyed cuckold trying to rise above and move on from the fray.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 2, 2023

His affinity for theatrical misdirection and mystery was acknowledged by his friend, the playwright Anthony Shaffer, who based the cunningly vengeful cuckold in his play “Sleuth” partly on Mr. Sondheim.

From New York Times • Nov. 26, 2021

And Anderson stalwarts Murray and Jason Schwartzman own their roles as, respectively, a cuckold dad and a power-mad camp counselor, but they remain on the periphery, like wandering jesters.

From Slate • May 24, 2012

Samuel Barnett as the helpless cuckold, Vanessa Kirby as the tricked Isabella, Richard Lintern as the Mussolinesque Duke and Andrew Woodall as a sly courtier also give good, well-defined performances.

From The Guardian • Apr. 27, 2010

To wives and servants all good wishes lend, But the poor cuckold seldom finds a friend.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 04 by Scott, Walter, Sir

Related Words

• cuck