cuckold

Meaning

Noun

1. A man married to an unfaithful wife, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact.
2. A man who is paraphilically attracted to or aroused by the sexual infidelity of a partner.
3. A West Indian plectognath fish, Rhinesomus triqueter.
4. The scrawled cowfish, Acanthostracion quadricornis and allied species.
5. Synonym of fringed filefish.

Verb

To make a cuckold or cuckquean of someone by being unfaithful, or by seducing their partner or spouse.

Synonyms

cheat

betray

wander

wittold

cheat on

horn

delude

disappoint

fool

mislead

trick

common filefish

fringed filefish

orange-spotted filefish

orangespotted file

orangespotted filefish

planehead filefish

tail-light filefish

cuckolded husband

two-timed husband

be unfaithful

be unfaithful to

con

deceive

deceived husband

Translations

cocu

cornuto

becco

cocufier

cornudo

κερατώνω

Hahnrei

tromper

cornard

corno

κερατάς

poner los cuernos

Hörner aufsetzen

cornut

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkʌ.kəʊld/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cokolde

Cognate with Latin: cucūlus

Cognate with German: Gewalt

Inherited from Middle English: -

In summary

From Middle English cokolde, cokewold, cockewold, kukwald, kukeweld, from Old French cucuault; a compound of cucu (“cuckoo”) and Old French -auld. The word references the behavior of cuckoo birds where they lay their eggs in another bird’s nest. Cucu is either a directly derived onomatopoeic derivative of the cuckoo's call, or from Latin cucūlus. Latin cucūlus is a compound of onomatopoeic cucu (compare Late Latin cucus) and the diminutive suffix -ulus.
Old French -auld is from Frankish *-wald (similar suffixes are used in some personal names within other Germanic languages as well; compare English Harold, for instance), a suffixal use of Frankish *wald (“wielder, ruler, leader”), from Proto-Germanic *waldaz (compare German Gewalt, from the related *waldą (“power, might”)), from *waldaną (“to rule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong; to rule”).
Appears in Middle English in noun form circa 1250 as cokewald. First known use of the verb form is 1589.