English
cuckold
Cuckold comes from Old French cucuault ‘a cuckold’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcuculus‘cuckoo (bird)’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cucuault‘a cuckold’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cokolde
- Englishearliest quotation 1546cuckold
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-root as named
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcuculus‘cuckoo (bird)’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cucuault‘a cuckold’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cokolde
- Englishearliest quotation 1546cuckold
Earliest quotation: 1546, François Rabelais, The Third Book: “If I never marry, I shall never be a…”
first attested First known use of the verb form is 1589 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-
value, wild, equivalent, valid, velvet, valuation, wool, vale, avail, valiant, fluff, flannel, vail, wield, valour, velour, valorous, lanolin, woll, 44 more
Today it means
noun A man married to an adulterous spouse, especially when he is unaware or unaccepting of the fact.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- / cuckold