coo-coo

See also: coocoo

English

Alternative forms

• coocoo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuku/

Noun

coo-coo (countable and uncountable, plural coo-coos)

1. The two-note vocalisation made by the male of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), or imitation of this by a cuckoo clock.
   • 2014, Norah Wilson, Heather Doherty, Forever the Night‎^[1]:

     The clocks lining the dream hallway in her mind taunted her with their twisting hands, their broken faces, and some of them, with a cringe-worthy coo-coo, coo-coo squall.

2. A Barbadian food made from mashed okra and cornmeal.
3. A loving or affectionate murmuration.
   • 1916 August, The Electrical Experimenter, New York, page 248, column 3:

     "Cut it short, sis, cut it short," he would growl at her if she started to murmur sweet "coo-coos" to her affinity stationed on the other end of the wire.

Translations

sound made by the cuckoo

• Scottish Gaelic: gug gùg
• Swedish: kucku (sv)
• Vietnamese: cu cu (vi)