cuckold

n. [ OE. kukeweld, cokewold, cokold, fr. OF. coucoul, cucuault, the last syllable being modified by the OE. suffix -wold (see Herald); cf. F. cocu a cuckold, formerly also, a cuckoo, and L. cuculus a cuckoo. The word alludes to the habit of the female cuckoo, who lays her eggs in the nests of other birds, to be hatched by them. ] 1. A man whose wife is unfaithful; the husband of an adulteress. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) (a) A West Indian plectognath fish (Ostracion triqueter). (b) The cowfish. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Cuckolded; p. pr. & vb. n. Cuckolding. ] To make a cuckold of, as a husband, by seducing his wife, or by her becoming an adulteress. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cuckold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the qualities of a cuckold; mean-spirited; sneaking. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being a cuckold; the practice of making cuckolds. [ 1913 Webster ]