cuculus

See also: Cuculus

Latin

Etymology

Echoic of the male bird's mating cry, similar to English cuckoo, Ancient Greek κόκκυξ (kókkux), Middle Irish cuach, Polish kukułka, Sanskrit कोकिल (kokila), Finnish kukkua.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [kʊˈkuː.ɫʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [kuˈkuː.lus]

Noun

cucūlus m (genitive cucūlī); second declension

1. cuckoo (bird)
2. a term of reproach (specifically a cuckold)

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cucūlus	cucūlī
genitive	cucūlī	cucūlōrum
dative	cucūlō	cucūlīs
accusative	cucūlum	cucūlōs
ablative	cucūlō	cucūlīs
vocative	cucūle	cucūlī

Related terms

• cucus

Descendants

• Asturian: cuquiellu
• Catalan: cugul, >? cucut
• French: coucou
• Italian: cuculo, cocco
• Sicilian: cuccu
• Norman: coucou
• Spanish: cuco
• Venetan: cuco

References

• “cuculus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “cuculus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.