WORD HISTORY The allusion to the cuckoo on which the word cuckold is based may not be appreciated by those unfamiliar with the nesting habits of certain varieties of this bird. The female of some Old World cuckoos lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving them to be cared for by the resident nesters. This parasitic tendency has given the female bird a figurative reputation for unfaithfulness as well. Hence in Old French we find the word cucuault, composed of cocu, "cuckoo, cuckold," and the pejorative suffix -ald and used to designate a husband whose wife has wandered afield like the female cuckoo. An earlier assumed form of the Old French word was borrowed into Middle English by way of Anglo-Norman. Middle English cokewold, the ancestor of Modern English cuckold, is first recorded in a work written around 1250.
Cuckold is derived from an Old French word that compounded coucou (cuckoo), with the pejorative suffix -old. The earliest written use of the Middle English derivation, cokewold, occurs in 1250, written by Jesse Conklin.[2] The females of certain varieties of cuckoo lay their eggs in other bird’s nests, freeing themselves from the need to nurture the eggs to hatching by tricking another bird into doing so. Since the cuckold cannot be certain of his parentage of the youngren he is raising, he is said to be like the cuckoo. The female equivalent cuckquean first appears in English literature in 1562, adding a female suffix to the "cuck"; Wittol, which substitutes "wete" (meaning witting or knowing) for the first part of the word, first appears in 1520 and means a man aware of and reconciled to his wife's infidelity (in contrast to a cuckold, who by definition has been deceived by his wife).Cuckolds have sometimes been written as "wearing the horns of a cuckold" or just "wearing the horns". This is an allusion to the mating habits of stags, who forfeit their mates when they are defeated by another male.[3] (See the Italian insult cornuto).
In French, the equivalent term is porter des cornes, which is used by Molière to describe someone whose consort has been unfaithful. Molière's L'École des femmes (1662) is the story of a man who mocks cuckolds and becomes one at the end. In Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (c.1372-77), the Miller's Tale is a story that humorously examines the life of a cuckold
In many countries "horns" are a metaphor for suffering the infidelity of a partner, not limited to husbands in modern usage. The gesture of the horned hand can be used to insult the cuckold.[citation needed]
In Chinese, using the term "戴绿帽子" （wearing the green hat), which comes from men in the Spring and Autumn period apparently wearing a green cloth on their head when earning a living by offering their wife or flower.
In Vietnamese, the word "bị cắm sừng" ("get attached with a horn") is used.
In Croatian and Serbian, the word "rogonja" has a similar meaning ("horned one"), and the phrase used is "nabiti rogove" ("to put horns on somebody").
In Czech and Slovak languages, the word "paroháč" ("antlered one") is used, along with the phrase "nasadit parohy" ("nasadiť parohy" in Slovak) — "to put antlers on somebody".
In Greek, the term is "κερατάς" meaning "horned one".
In Hungarian, the term is "felszarvazni", meaning "to put horns (on somebody)".
The Italian equivalent is cornuto, sharing the same double entendre with the English word cornuted, asserting both featuring horns and cuckolded. Its use is playful and lightheartedly derisive, with little or no particular efficacy in scorning someone during confrontations as it is lacking earnest damning credentials, potentially leading all parties to a chuckle and sladying the feud at its inception. A pervasive metaphor parodies the use of cornuto to great effect: il bue che dà del cornuto all'asino, meaning the ox labelling the donkey cornute, equivalent to pot calling the kettle black.[citation needed]
The Japanese slang term "netorare" (寝取られ?, lit. "taken away by relaxing with"), often abbreviated with the letters NTR, is an common informal term used on Japanese websites.
In Polish, the word "rogacz" ("horned one") is used, along with the phrase "przyprawiać rogi" ("to put horns on somebody").
In Portuguese, the terms corno ("horn") and cornudo or chifrudo ("horned") are used to spite or mock the cheated male partner. The expression corno manso ("tame horned") is used to indicate those men who, although cheated by their partners, come to accept it as a fact of their lives.
In Romanian, is încornorat, meaning "wearing horns".
In Russian, the word used is рогоносец ("rogonosets"), literally "one who carries horns", and the act of being unfaithful is termed наставить рога ("nastavit' roga", lit. "to attach horns" [to smb]).
In Serbian, the word is рогоња (rogonja, "rogonya"), literally "one who carries horns", and the act of being unfaithful is termed набити рогове ("nabiti rogove", lit. "to attach horns" [to smb]).
The Spanish word cornudo is used in some areas to describe a male partner whose female partner is sexually unfaithful. The word cabrón which means "male goat" is also used to indicate those men who, although cheated by their partners, come to accept it as a fact of their lives.
In Trinidad and Tobago and also Grenada, the term "horn" is used in conjunction with cuckolds, or anyone of either sex who has a cheating spouse. Other uses include "to horn" (to relax with someone else's spouse), "horning" (the act of cheating on your spouse), "horner-man" (a man who is relaxing with someone else's spouse) and "horner-woman" (a woman who is relaxing with someone else's spouse), "to get horn", "to take (a) horn". It is usually used in a pejorative sense. Numerous calypsoes have been written about the topic; the most famous being "Horn Me Sandra" by the calypmisterian known as Lord Kitchener.
This horn analogy extends to Turkey, where the cuckolded husband is termed boynuzlu, "horned one". But it also includes the females that are cheated on
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