cuckold

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

cuckold

/ˈkʌ.kəʊld/ UK
/ˈkʌ.kəld/ UK
/ˈkʌ.koʊld/ US
/ˈkʌ.kəld/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English cokolde, cokewold, cockewold, kukwald, kukeweld, from Old French cucuault; a compound of cucu (“cuckoo”) and Old French -auld. The word references the behavior of cuckoo birds where they lay their eggs in another bird’s nest. Cucu is either a directly derived onomatopoeic derivative of the cuckoo's call, or from Latin cucūlus. Latin cucūlus is a compound of onomatopoeic cucu (compare Late Latin cucus) and the diminutive suffix -ulus.

Old French -auld is from Frankish *-wald (similar suffixes are used in some personal names within other Germanic languages as well; compare English Harold, for instance), a suffixal use of Frankish *wald (“wielder, ruler, leader”), from Proto-Germanic *waldaz (compare German Gewalt, from the related *waldą (“power, might”)), from *waldaną (“to rule”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong; to rule”).

Appears in Middle English in noun form circa 1250 as cokewald. First known use of the verb form is 1589.

noun cuckolds · cuckhold

A man married to an adulterous spouse, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact. If I never marry, I shall never be a cuckold.
A man who is attracted to or aroused by the sexual infidelity of a partner.
A West Indian plectognath fish, Rhinesomus triqueter.
Similar: Ostracion triqueter, smooth trunkfish
The scrawled cowfish, Acanthostracion quadricornis and allied species.
Synonym of fringed filefish.
Similar: fringed filefish

verb cuckolds · cuckolding · cuckolded · cuckhold

transitive To make a cuckold or cuckquean of someone by committing adultery, or by seducing their partner or spouse. "Gave her anything she wanted - her own car, her own bank account, a free leg to amuse herself as she pleased. Of course she hated him for it. Cuckolded him, too, naturally."
Similar: cuck, horn, hornify, put horns on, behorn, cuckold, cuckoldize, two-time

Thesaurus

noun

Translations

Every language

noun man married to an adulterous spouse

Español	cornudo, cuclillo, novillo, cachudo, tarrudo, cachón
한국어	오쟁이진 남편 ojaeng'ijin nampyeon
日本語	コキュー kokyū, コキュ kokyu
中文	烏龜 /乌龟 wūguī, 王八 wángba
Português	corno, chifrudo, cabrão
Français	cocu, cornard
Deutsch	Gehörnter, Hahnrei, Hornträger
Italiano	cornuto, becco
Ελληνικά	κερατάς keratás
Română	încornorat
Русский	рога́тый rogátyj, куко́лд kukóld
العربية	دَيُّوث dayyūṯ
עברית	קַרְנָן karnán

verb make a cuckold

Español	poner los cuernos, poner los cachos, poner el gorro, pegar los tarros, poner las guampas
日本語	不義をする fugi o suru
中文	綠 /绿 lǜ
Português	chifrar, cornear, pôr chifres em, trair
Français	cocufier, porter des cornes
Deutsch	hörnen
Italiano	mettere le corna, cornificare
Ελληνικά	κερατώνω keratóno
Русский	наста́вить рога́ nastávitʹ rogá
Tiếng Việt	cắm sừng

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"cuckold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cuckold. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cuckold. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cuckold

Chicago

"cuckold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cuckold.

BibTeX

@misc{cuckold_2026,
  title = {cuckold},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cuckold},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}