Cuculus
/ˈkuː.kʊ.lʊs/noun
A cuckoo, or a cuckoo-bird; also used in Latin as the source of related bird names in later languages.
Did you know?Latin cuculus is widely treated as an onomatopoeic bird-name, imitating the cuckoo’s call rather than descending from a neat abstract root.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱuk- / *kū-
“An imitative base for a cuckoo-like call, reconstructed rather than directly attested.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κόκκυξ (kókkux)
“Cuckoo.”
Classical Latin
Latin
cuculus
“Cuckoo.”
Late Latin
Latin
cucullus
“Hood or cowl; a different word, often confused in popular imagination but not the same etymon.”
Old French
Old French
coucou
“Cuckoo.”
Modern English
English
cuckoo
“A cuckoo bird; also, by extension, a foolish or eccentric person.”