cuckoo

English

Etymology

From Middle English cokkou, probably from Old French cucu (whence French coucou); ultimately onomatopoeic of the song of the male Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), perhaps via Latin cucūlus (“cuckoo”). Displaced native Old English ġēac (> modern dialect yek (“cuckoo”)).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkʊk.uː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkuː.kuː/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊkuː, -uːkuː
• Hyphenation: cuc‧koo

Noun

cuckoo (countable and uncountable, plural cuckoos)

1. Any of various birds, of the family Cuculidae, famous for laying its eggs in the nests of other species; but especially a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), that has a characteristic two-note call.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

     He knows me, as the blind man knows the cuckoo, / By the bad voice.

2. The sound of that particular bird.
3. The bird-shaped figure found in cuckoo clocks.
4. The cuckoo clock itself.
5. A person who inveigles themselves into a place where they should not be (used especially in the phrase a cuckoo in the nest).
6. (slang) Someone who is crazy.
7. Alternative form of coo-coo (“Barbadian food”)

Derived terms

• black cuckoo-shrike
• brush cuckoo
• channel-bill cuckoo
• channel-billed cuckoo
• cloud-cuckoo-land
• cloud cuckoo land
• cloud cuckoo-land
• cuckoo-bread
• cuckoo catfish
• cuckoo clock
• cuckoo dove
• cuckoo-dove (Columbinae spp.)
• cuckoo hashing
• cuckoo-hawk
• cuckoo pint
• cuckoo-pint (“Arum italicum”)
• cuckoo roller
• cuckoo's egg
• cuckoo shrike (Campephagidae spp.)
• cuckoo sign
• cuckoo spit
• cuckoo wasp
• drongo cuckoo
• hawk-cuckoo
• Jacobin cuckoo
• little bronze cuckoo
• Philippine cuckoo-dove
• pied crested cuckoo
• pied cuckoo
• rufous-vented ground-cuckoo

 

Related terms

• cuculine (rare)

Translations

the bird

• Albanian: qyqe (sq) f
• Arabic: وَقْوَاق‎ m (waqwāq)
• Armenian: կկու (hy) (kku)
• Aromanian: cuc m
• Asturian: cucu m
• Bashkir: кәкүк (kəkök)
• Basque: kuku
• Belarusian: зязю́ля (zjazjúlja)
• Breton: koukoug (br)
• Bulgarian: ку́кувица (bg) f (kúkuvica), кукуви́ца (bg) f (kukuvíca)
• Burushaski: kapo
• Catalan: cucut (ca) m
• Chechen: оттйокх (ottjoq)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 杜鵑／杜鹃 (zh) (dùjuān), 布穀鳥／布谷鸟 (zh) (bùgǔniǎo)

• Chukchi: ӄэӄӄуӄ (qėqquq), ӄэӄуӄ (qėquq), ӄэӄучьын (qėqučʹyn)
• Cornish: koukou f
• Czech: kukačka (cs) f
• Danish: gøg (da) c
• Dutch: koekoek (nl) m
• Erzya: куко (kuko)
• Esperanto: kukolo (eo)
• Estonian: kägu (et)
• Faroese: geykur m
• Finnish: käki (fi)
• French: coucou (fr) m
• Friulian: cuc, cuců, cucuc
• Galician: cuco m, cuquelo m
• Georgian: გუგული (guguli)
• German: Kuckuck (de) m
• Greek: κούκος (el) (koúkos)

  Ancient: κόκκυξ m (kókkux)

• Hebrew: קוּקִיָה‎ f (kukiyá)
• Hindi: कोयल (hi) f (koyal), कोकिला (hi) m (kokilā)
• Hungarian: kakukk (hu)
• Icelandic: gaukur (is) m
• Ido: kukulo (io)
• Inari Sami: kiehâ
• Interlingua: cucu
• Irish: cuach f
• Italian: cuculo (it) m, cucù (it) m
• Japanese: 郭公 (ja) (かっこう, kakkō), カッコウ (ja) (kakkō)
• Karakalpak: a'tsho'k
• Kazakh: көкек (kk) (kökek)
• Ket: ӄоӄпунь (qoqpunʼ)
• Khakas: кӧӧк
• Korean: 뻐꾸기 (ppeokkugi), 두견새 (ko) (dugyeonsae)
• Kumyk: атъёкъ (atyoq)
• Ladin: cuch
• Latgalian: dzagiuze
• Latin: cuculus m
• Latvian: dzeguze (lv) f
• Lithuanian: gegutė (lt) f
• Livonian: keg, kukūlind
• Low German: Kuukuuk (nds) m, kukuuk m
• Lower Sorbian: kukawa
• Lule Sami: giehka, ránatjalådde
• Luxembourgish: Guckuck m
• Macedonian: кука́вица f (kukávica)
• Malay: please add this translation if you can
• Malayalam: കുയിൽ (ml) (kuyil); കോകിലം (ml) (kōkilaṁ) (poetic)
• Maltese: daqquqa kaħla f
• Manx: cooag f
• Maori: kokoea
• Norman: coucou m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gjøk (no) m, gauk m

  Nynorsk: gauk m

• Occitan: coguol (oc) m, coguou (oc) m, cocut (oc) m
• Old English: ġēac m
• Old Norse: gaukr m
• Persian: کوکو‎ (fa) (kuku)
• Polish: kukułka (pl) f
• Portuguese: cuco (pt) m
• Romani: kukuriezo m, chuhuriezo m, kukuriashka f, chuhuriashka f
• Romanian: cuc (ro)
• Romansch: cucu
• Russian: куку́шка (ru) f (kukúška)
• Sami: giehka
• Sanskrit: कोकिल (sa) m (kokila)
• Sardinian: cucu, cucui, cucuperra, cucuperrai, cucuevvai, cucumarei
• Scottish Gaelic: cuthag f, cuach f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кукавица f

  Roman: kukavica (sh) f

• Shor: кӧӧк (köök)
• Skolt Sami: ǩiõkk
• Slovak: kukučka (sk) f
• Slovene: kukavica (sl) f
• Southern Sami: gïege
• Spanish: cuco (es) m, cuclillo (es) m
• Sudovian: geguze f
• Swahili: kekeo
• Swedish: gök (sv) c
• Tagalog: kakok
• Tajik: фохтак (foxtak), куку (kuku), олучахӯрак (olučaxürak)
• Tamil: குயில் (ta) (kuyil)
• Telugu: కోకిల (te) (kōkila)
• Turkish: guguk (tr), guguk kuşu (tr)
• Turkmen: ikatäk
• Ukrainian: зозу́ля f (zozúlja)
• Upper Sorbian: kokula
• Urdu: کویل‎ f (koyal)
• Uzbek: kakkuqush, kakku (uz)
• Veps: kägi
• Vietnamese: chim cu, họ cu cu
• Volapük: kukuk (vo)
• Võro: kägo
• Walloon: coucou (wa) m
• Welsh: cog f, cwcw f
• West Frisian: koekoek (fy)
• Yakut: кэҕэ (keğe)
• Yiddish: קוקו‎ (kuku)

the sound

• Bulgarian: кукане n (kukane)
• Finnish: kukunta (fi), kukkuu (fi)
• French: coucou (fr) m, coucoulement (fr) m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: κόκκυ (kókku)

• Hungarian: kakukk (hu)
• Italian: cu cu
• Kazakh: көк-көк (kök-kök)
• Latgalian: kiukuot
• Latvian: kūkot
• Lithuanian: kukuoti
• Macedonian: ку-ку (ku-ku)
• Mongolian: гүүг гүүг (güüg güüg), гүг гүү (güg güü)
• Norwegian: ko-ko (no) n
• Russian: ку-ку (ru) (ku-ku)
• Swedish: kucku (sv)
• Turkish: guguk (tr)
• Vietnamese: cu cu (vi)

bird-shaped figure in cuckoo clock

• Finnish: käki (fi)

cuckoo clock — see also cuckoo clock

someone crazy — see also crazy

• Bulgarian: чалнат (bg) m (čalnat)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 狂者

• French: coucou (fr) m
• Hungarian: zakkant, lökött (hu), buggyant (hu), dilis (hu)
• Japanese: 風狂の人 (fūkyōnohito)
• Russian: ку-ку́ (ru) (ku-kú)

Verb

cuckoo (third-person singular simple present cuckoos, present participle cuckooing, simple past and past participle cuckooed)

1. To make the call of a cuckoo.
2. To repeat something incessantly. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

   Synonym: parrot

3. (UK, law enforcement) To take over the home of a vulnerable person for the purposes of carrying out organized crime in a concealed way.

Translations

to make the call of a cuckoo

• Bulgarian: кукам (kukam)
• Finnish: kukkua (fi)
• French: coucouler (fr)
• Hungarian: kakukkol (hu)
• Macedonian: кука (kuka)
• Manchu: ᡨ᠋ᠣᠩᠰᡳᠮᠪᡳ (tongsimbi)
• Maori: kūī
• Mongolian:

  Classical Mongolian: ᠱᠣᠭᠱᠤᠤᠷᠯᠠᠮᠦᠢ (šoɣšuurlamüi̯)

• Polish: kukać (pl) impf
• Russian: куковать (ru) impf (kukovatʹ)
• Swedish: gala (sv)

to repeat something incessantly

• Bulgarian: повтарям монотонно (povtarjam monotonno)
• Finnish: hokea (fi)
• Hungarian: ismételget (hu), szajkóz (hu)
• Macedonian: вергла (vergla)
• Polish: gęgać (pl) impf

Adjective

cuckoo (comparative more cuckoo, superlative most cuckoo)

1. (slang) Crazy; not sane.

   I think I'm going cuckoo!

Derived terms

• cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
• cuckooness