Word
cuckold
Phoneticscuck·old
UK/kˈʌkəʊld/
Definition
n. a man who is tricked into thinking he is the father of a child, but the real father is someone else. It is a very rude and offensive word.
n. a man who is deceived into believing he is the biological father of a child, while the actual father is another man. Highly offensive and derogatory in modern usage.
Examples
“In some historical contexts, a man who was a cuckold might be mocked or ostracized by his community.”
“The play explores the psychological trauma of a man who discovers he is a cuckold, highlighting the social stigma and personal betrayal associated with such a revelation.”
Examples
contextual
“In some historical contexts, a man who was a cuckold might be mocked or ostracized by his community.”
complex
“The play explores the psychological trauma of a man who discovers he is a cuckold, highlighting the social stigma and personal betrayal associated with such a revelation.”
Etymology
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C2 ProficiencyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.8.5–9.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 6.0114–120
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C2 · Proficiency
- Updated
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