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Synonyms for cuckoo

Grammar : Adj
Spell : koo-koo, koo k-oo
Phonetic Transcription : ˈku ku, ˈkʊk u

Définition of cuckoo

Origin :
  • mid-13c., from Old French cocu "cuckoo," also "cuckold," echoic of the male bird's mating cry (cf. Greek kokkyx, Latin cuculus, Middle Irish cuach, Sanskrit kokilas). Slang sense of "crazy" (adj.) is American English, 1918, but noun meaning "stupid person" is first recorded 1580s, perhaps from the bird's unvarying, oft-repeated call. The Old English name was geac, cognate with Old Norse gaukr, source of Scottish and northern English gowk. The Germanic words presumably originally were echoic, too, but had drifted in form. Cuckoo clock is from 1789.
  • adj crazy
Example sentences :
  • The cuckoo clock struck nine, and Claude made a gesture of annoyance.
  • Extract from : « His Masterpiece » by Emile Zola
  • Perhaps it was only the striking of the cuckoo clock in my room.
  • Extract from : « The Woman Thou Gavest Me » by Hall Caine
  • When you get the cuckoo into the garden, build a wall round and keep it in.'
  • Extract from : « A Son of Hagar » by Sir Hall Caine
  • For it's not I'll be the cuckoo to push you out, McMurrough, lad.
  • Extract from : « The Wild Geese » by Stanley John Weyman
  • Come, my cuckoo; here we are at the bottom of the valley; now or never.
  • Extract from : « Hidden Hand » by Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
  • "Yes, our lot are pretty good at the cuckoo game," he agreed.
  • Extract from : « Pushed and the Return Push » by George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)
  • When first discovered it contained two pipit's eggs and the egg of a cuckoo.
  • Extract from : « My Studio Neighbors » by William Hamilton Gibson
  • The cuckoo is not alone among British birds in its intrusion on other nests.
  • Extract from : « My Studio Neighbors » by William Hamilton Gibson
  • America is spared the infliction of this notorious "cuckoo."
  • Extract from : « My Studio Neighbors » by William Hamilton Gibson
  • And what is this cuckoo which has thus bewitched all the poets?
  • Extract from : « My Studio Neighbors » by William Hamilton Gibson

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019