cuculus

See also: Cuculus

Latin

cucūlus (a cuckoo)

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): /kuˈkuː.lus/, [kʊˈkuːɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kuˈku.lus/, [kuˈkuːlus]

Noun

cucūlus m (genitive cucūlī); second declension

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

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	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
• Sicilian: cuccu
• Norman: coucou
• Spanish: 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.