Coucou
/kuːˈkuː/noun
A French loanword meaning “cuckoo,” also used in French as an informal greeting or call of acknowledgment.
Did you know?In French, coucou can mean both “hello” and “peekaboo,” while the cuckoo itself became associated with deception because it lays its eggs in other birds’ nests.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European (reconstructed)
PIE
*gʰegʰu-
“A reconstructed imitative root associated with the cuckoo’s call; the reconstruction is uncertain because bird names are often sound-symbolic.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κόκκυξ (kókkyx)
“Cuckoo; an imitation of the bird’s repeated call.”
Classical Latin
Latin
cucūlus
“Cuckoo, borrowed or adapted from the bird’s call.”
Old French
Old French
cocu
“Cuckoo; later also associated with a deceived husband, reflecting the bird’s habit of leaving eggs in other birds’ nests.”
Middle French
French
coucou
“Cuckoo; also an imitative call and an informal interjection.”
Modern English
English
coucou
“A French loanword referring to “cuckoo,” especially in cultural contexts such as the French word for a cuckoo clock.”