Plural of cuckold; men whose wives or long-term partners have been unfaithful, or (verb) causes a man to become a cuckold.
From Old French 'cucuault' from Italian 'cucualdo,' possibly from Latin 'cuculus' (cuckoo bird). The cuckoo bird's habit of laying eggs in other birds' nests became a metaphor for betrayal and displaced paternity.
The word 'cuckold' literally comes from the cuckoo bird, which tricks other birds into raising its babies—medieval people noticed this sneaky behavior and used it as a brutal insult for betrayed men, even adding horns to their jokes about them!
Plural of cuckold; same gendered shame origins.
Avoid when used as insult or shame-term. Use 'betrayed partners' or 'people in consensual non-monogamous relationships' as context requires.
["betrayed partners","unfaithful relationships"]
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