A man whose spouse or romantic partner is unfaithful.
tr.v. cuck·old·ed,
cuck·old·ing,
cuck·olds
To make a cuckold of.
[Middle English cokewald, from Anglo-Norman *cucuald, from cucu,
the cuckoo, from Vulgar Latin *cuccūlus, from Latin cucūlus.]
Word History: The allusion to the cuckoo on which the word
cuckold is based may not be appreciated by those unfamiliar with the nesting habits of certain varieties of this bird. The female of some cuckoos lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving them to be cared for by the resident nesters. This parasitic tendency has given the female bird a figurative reputation for unfaithfulness as well. Hence in Old French we find the word
cucuault, composed of
cocu, "cuckoo, cuckold," and the pejorative suffix
-ald, used to designate a husband whose wife has wandered afield like the female cuckoo. An earlier assumed form of the Old French word was borrowed into Middle English by way of Anglo-Norman. Middle English
cokewold, the ancestor of Modern English
cuckold, is first recorded in a work written around 1250.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cuckold
(ˈkʌkəld)
n
a man whose spouse has committed adultery, often regarded as an object of scorn
vb
(
tr) to make a cuckold of
[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]
ˈcuckoldry n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cuck•old
(ˈkʌk əld)
n.
1. the husband of an unfaithful wife.
v.t.
2. to make a cuckold of (a husband).
[1200–50; Middle English
cukeweld, later
cok(k)ewold, cukwold < Anglo-French
*cucuald]
This should clear it all up.
