cuckold

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

Derived from Old French cucuault (from cucu, the Cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in another’s nest). Appears in Middle English in noun form circa 1250 as cokewald. First known use of the verb form is 1589.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -əʊld
• (UK) IPA: /ˈkʌk.əʊld/, /ˈkʌk.əld/
• (US) IPA: /ˈkʌk.oʊld/, /ˈkʌk.əld/

Noun

cuckold (plural cuckolds, feminine cuckquean)

1. A man married to an unfaithful wife, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact.
   • 1546, François Rabelais, The Third Book, Chapter 36

     If I never marry, I shall never be a cuckold.

Usage notes

• This was a standard comic figure in medieval and Shakespearean drama.

Quotations

• For more examples of usage of this term, see the citations page.

Hyponyms

• (a man married to an unfaithful wife): wittol, mari complaisant

Derived terms

• cuckquean

Translations

man married to an unfaithful wife

• Albanian: brinar (sq)
• Arabic: ديوث (ar) (dayyuuth) m
• Breton: dogan (br)
• Bulgarian: рогоносец (bg) m (rogonosec)
• Catalan: cornut (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ("tortoise") 烏龜 (cmn), 乌龟 (cmn) (wūguī), ("tortoise") 王八 (cmn) (wángba), 綠帽子 (cmn), 绿帽子 (cmn) (lǜmàozi), 綠帽 (cmn), 绿帽 (cmn) (lǜmào)

• Corsican: curnutu (co)
• Czech: paroháč (cs) m
• Danish: hanrej (da) c
• Dutch: hoorndrager (nl) m
• Esperanto: kokrito (eo)
• Finnish: aisankannattaja (fi)
• French: cocu (fr) m, cornard (fr) m

• German: Gehörnter (de) m, Hahnrei (de) m, Hornträger (de) m
• Greek: κερατάς (el) (keratás) m 
• Hebrew: ("horned one") קרנן (he) (qarnan) m
• Italian: cornuto (it) m, becco (it) m
• Japanese: コキュー (ja) (kokyū), コキュ (ja) (kokyu)
• Korean: 오쟁이진 (ko) (ojaeng-ijin)
• Polish: rogacz (pl) m
• Portuguese: corno (pt), chifrudo (pt), por os cornos ao marido (pt)
• Romanian: încornorat (ro) m
• Russian: ("horn carrier") рогоносец (ru) (rogonósec) m 
• Serbo-Croatian: рогоња (sh) (rogonja) m
• Sicilian: cuinnutu m
• Spanish: cornudo (es) m
• Swedish: hanrej (sv)
• Vietnamese: cắm sừng (vi)
• Volapük: koküfäb (vo)

comic figure

Verb

cuckold (third-person singular simple present cuckolds, present participle cuckolding, simple past and past participle cuckolded)

1. (transitive) To make a cuckold of someone by being unfaithful, or by seducing his wife.
   • 2008, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content 1319: The Flimsiest of Logic

     Hey, I would never cuckold one of my friends. That’s way not cool.

Quotations

• For more examples of usage of this term, see the citations page.

Translations

make a cuckold

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 使戴綠帽子 (cmn) (also: 使戴綠帽), 使戴绿帽子 (cmn) (shǐ dài lǜmàozi) (also: 使戴绿帽)

• Dutch: bedriegen (nl) (wife), onder de kluiten schieten (nl), de hoorns opzetten (nl)
• Esperanto: kokri (eo)
• French: cocufier (fr)
• Greek: κερατώνω (el) (keratóno) 
• Italian: fare le corna

• Japanese: 不義をする (ja) (ふぎをする, fugi-o surú)
• Polish: przyprawić komuś rogi (pl)
• Russian: наставить рога (ru) (nastávit' rogá) 
• Serbo-Croatian: набити рогове (sh) (nabiti rogove)
• Sicilian: fari li corna
• Spanish: poner los cuernos (es), poner los cachos (es), poner el gorro (es), pegar los tarros (es), poner las guampas (es), sanchear (es)