Caburus
Active Member
The word cuckold is applied to a man who has an unfaithful wife, and the cuckolded man is said to have grown horns. The word cuckold is meant to relate to the word cuckoo, the female of which lays its eggs in other birds' nests.
Does anyone know of an alternative derivation for this word? It is the wife who is behaving like a cuckoo, not the husband, so why is he called a cuckoo? What is the link between cuckoos and horns (surely the husband should grow feathers, or wings?). And horns traditonally symbolise virility and strength, so why is the husband said to grow them - surely it would be more likely to say that he had lost his horns (with the accompanying innuendoes) when he can no longer 'keep' his wife.
Does anyone know of an alternative derivation for this word? It is the wife who is behaving like a cuckoo, not the husband, so why is he called a cuckoo? What is the link between cuckoos and horns (surely the husband should grow feathers, or wings?). And horns traditonally symbolise virility and strength, so why is the husband said to grow them - surely it would be more likely to say that he had lost his horns (with the accompanying innuendoes) when he can no longer 'keep' his wife.