Cuckolded
/ˈkʌk.əldd/noun
Past tense of cuckold: to make someone a cuckold, especially by committing adultery with that person's spouse.
Did you know?The insult likely comes from the cuckoo, a bird famous for laying its eggs in other birds’ nests, turning a natural behavior into a lasting metaphor for hidden betrayal.
Etymological Timeline
Late Old English / early Middle English
English
cucuold
“An insult for a man whose wife was unfaithful; later, a man mocked as sexually deceived.”
Old French
OF
cucuault / cucuold
“A cuckold; a man whose wife has been unfaithful.”
Medieval Latin
ML
cucullus / cuculus
“Likely influenced by the cuckoo bird name in learned and folk traditions; the bird became a symbol of deception and nesting intrusion.”
Latin
Latin
cuculus
“Cuckoo, the bird.”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kok- / *kuk-
“An imitative root used for the cuckoo’s call.”