Meaning of "cuckoo" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD CUCKOO

From Old French cucu, of imitative origin; related to German kuckuck, Latin cucūlus, Greek kokkux.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF CUCKOO

cuckoo  [ˈkʊkuː]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF CUCKOO

Cuckoo is a verb and can also act as a noun, an adjective and an exclamation.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb cuckoo in English.

Exclamation is an expression or voice that reflects an emotion or exaltation.

WHAT DOES CUCKOO MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Cuckoo

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds, named for the Common Cuckoo of Europe. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos. Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute. The cuckoo family, in addition to those species named as such, also includes the roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separated as distinct families, the Centropodidae and Crotophagidae respectively. The cuckoos are generally medium sized slender birds. The majority are arboreal, with a sizeable minority that are terrestrial. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority of species being tropical. Some species are migratory. The cuckoos feed on insects, insect larvae and a variety of other animals, as well as fruit. Many species are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, but the majority of species raise their own young.

Definition of cuckoo in the English dictionary

The first definition of cuckoo in the dictionary is any bird of the family Cuculidae, having pointed wings, a long tail, and zygodactyl feet: order Cuculiformes. Many species, including the European cuckoo, lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and have a two-note call. Other definition of cuckoo is an insane or foolish person. Cuckoo is also insane or foolish.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO CUCKOO

PRESENT

Present

I cuckoo

you cuckoo

he/she/it cuckooes

we cuckoo

you cuckoo

they cuckoo

Present continuous

I am cuckooing

you are cuckooing

he/she/it is cuckooing

we are cuckooing

you are cuckooing

they are cuckooing

Present perfect

I have cuckooed

you have cuckooed

he/she/it has cuckooed

we have cuckooed

you have cuckooed

they have cuckooed

Present perfect continuous

I have been cuckooing

you have been cuckooing

he/she/it has been cuckooing

we have been cuckooing

you have been cuckooing

they have been cuckooing

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I cuckooed

you cuckooed

he/she/it cuckooed

we cuckooed

you cuckooed

they cuckooed

Past continuous

I was cuckooing

you were cuckooing

he/she/it was cuckooing

we were cuckooing

you were cuckooing

they were cuckooing

Past perfect

I had cuckooed

you had cuckooed

he/she/it had cuckooed

we had cuckooed

you had cuckooed

they had cuckooed

Past perfect continuous

I had been cuckooing

you had been cuckooing

he/she/it had been cuckooing

we had been cuckooing

you had been cuckooing

they had been cuckooing

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will cuckoo

you will cuckoo

he/she/it will cuckoo

we will cuckoo

you will cuckoo

they will cuckoo

Future continuous

I will be cuckooing

you will be cuckooing

he/she/it will be cuckooing

we will be cuckooing

you will be cuckooing

they will be cuckooing

Future perfect

I will have cuckooed

you will have cuckooed

he/she/it will have cuckooed

we will have cuckooed

you will have cuckooed

they will have cuckooed

Future perfect continuous

I will have been cuckooing

you will have been cuckooing

he/she/it will have been cuckooing

we will have been cuckooing

you will have been cuckooing

they will have been cuckooing

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would cuckoo

you would cuckoo

he/she/it would cuckoo

we would cuckoo

you would cuckoo

they would cuckoo

Conditional continuous

I would be cuckooing

you would be cuckooing

he/she/it would be cuckooing

we would be cuckooing

you would be cuckooing

they would be cuckooing

Conditional perfect

I would have cuckoo

you would have cuckoo

he/she/it would have cuckoo

we would have cuckoo

you would have cuckoo

they would have cuckoo

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been cuckooing

you would have been cuckooing

he/she/it would have been cuckooing

we would have been cuckooing

you would have been cuckooing

they would have been cuckooing

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you cuckoo
we let´s cuckoo
you cuckoo

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to cuckoo

Past participle

cuckooed

Present Participle

cuckooing

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

TRANSLATION OF CUCKOO

Find out the translation of cuckoo to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of cuckoo from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «cuckoo» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 杜鹃
• Translator English - Spanish: cuclillo
• English: cuckoo
• Translator English - Hindi: कोयल
• Translator English - Arabic: وَقْواق
• Translator English - Russian: кукушка
• Translator English - Portuguese: cuco
• Translator English - Bengali: কোকিল
• Translator English - French: coucou
• Translator English - Malay: Cuckoo
• Translator English - German: Kuckuck
• Translator English - Japanese: カッコウ
• Translator English - Korean: 뻐꾸기
• Translator English - Javanese: Cuckoo
• Translator English - Vietnamese: chim cu
• Translator English - Tamil: குயில்
• Translator English - Marathi: कोकिळा
• Translator English - Turkish: guguk
• Translator English - Italian: cuculo
• Translator English - Polish: kukułka
• Translator English - Ukrainian: зозуля
• Translator English - Romanian: cuc
• Translator English - Greek: κούκος
• Translator English - Afrikaans: koekoek
• Translator English - Swedish: gök
• Translator English - Norwegian: gjøk

6 QUOTES WITH «CUCKOO»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word cuckoo.

1

Judy Blume

I never thought about writing. I was married young, I was still in college, as we did then, and I had two babies before I was 25, and I loved them, and I loved taking care of them, but I was a little bit cuckoo, staying at home and not having a creative outlet.

2

Alan Coren

Since both its national products, snow and chocolate, melt, the cuckoo clock was invented solely in order to give tourists something solid to remember it by.

3

Marc Faber

In the economy of the cuckoo people that populate central banks, everything is possible. What you have is gigantic bubbles, the NASDAQ in 2000, then the housing bubble and then commodities in 2008 when oil went from $78 to $147 before plunging to $32 within six months.

4

Graham Greene

In Switzerland they had brotherly love, five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock!

5

Richard LaGravenese

Barbara Stanwyck movies drove me nuts, like 'Ball of Fire' and 'Double Indemnity.' I used to go cuckoo when I would see those films.

6

Orson Welles

In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace - and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «CUCKOO»

Discover the use of cuckoo in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to cuckoo and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Cuckoo's Calling

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Robert Galbraith, J. K. Rowling, 2013

Cuckoo

A dark, juicy, deliciously unsettling, read-it-in-one-sitting psychological drama.Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home.

Julia Crouch, 2011

The Cuckoo Sister

A scruffy, undernourished teenager appears at the door of Kate's parents' London home, bearing a note that she is their long-lost child, stolen from her pram as a baby.

Vivien Alcock, 1997

The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of ...

The first true account of computer espionage tells of a year-long single-handed hunt for a computer thief who sold information from American computer files to Soviet intelligence agents

Cliff Stoll, 2005

Cuckoo/Cucu: A Mexican Folktale/Un Cuento Folklorico Mexicano

A traditional Mayan tale which reveals how the cuckoo lost her beautiful feathers.

Lois Ehlert, 2000

The Cuckoo Tree

When Dido Twite sets foot back on English soil, more mischief awaits.

Joan Aiken, 2000

The Cuckoo Clock

This book is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS series. The creators of this series are united by passion for literature and driven by the intention of making all public domain books available in printed format again - worldwide.

Mrs. Molesworth, 2012

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A criminal feigns insanity and is admitted to a mental hospital where he challenges the autocratic authority of the head nurse.

Ken Kesey, 2012

Cuckoo

But there's worse to come: villainy, prostitution, murder, madness and moving to Spurs turf. CUCKOO is the dark and funny story of a young person coming to terms with a truly terrible legacy.

S. D. Breen, 2011

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

As Jack gets older, Dr. Madeleine warns him that his heart is too fragile for strong emotions: he must never, ever fall in love. And, of course, this is exactly what he does: on his tenth birthday and with head-over-heels abandon.

Mathias Malzieu, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «CUCKOO»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term cuckoo is used in the context of the following news items.

Birds more likely to reject costly cuckoo eggs

Cuckoo eggs are usually very small but the chicks develop and grow ... Cuckoo chicks also reduce their competition by pushing out any other ... «ABC Science Online, Jul 15»

Australian Premiere of CUCKOO Comes to fortyfivedownstairs, Now …

15 Minutes From Anywhere present the premiere of a new Australian dark comedy, Cuckoo written by Jane Miller and directed by Alice Bishop ... «Broadway World, Jul 15»

Writers Are Going Cuckoo For KU

First, a bit of background. Kindle Unlimited, as you know, is essentially Amazon's all-you-can eat digital service. If you subscribe to it you get ... «TechCrunch, Jul 15»

Escaping cloud cuckoo land: 5 tips for success in the cloud

Organisations that think moving to the cloud will be a smooth process – a delightful deluge of cost savings, elated elasticity and seamless ... «Information Age, Jul 15»

Over the Cuckoo's head

“Parasite bird!” “Too lazy to hatch her own eggs!” Mrs. Cuckoo was upset with the reputation of the cuckoos. She had made up her mind that this ... «The Hindu, Jul 15»

Going Cuckoo Over Nature's Oddity

The babbler eggs and the cuckoo eggs are both blue in colour. Upon hatching, sometimes the chick goes on a killing spree doing away with ... «The New Indian Express, Jun 15»

One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest: When Illness Levels You

I recently had a serious bout of flu or some other mysterious, sneaky illness that snuck up and knocked me down so hard I didn't even know I ... «GoodTherapy.org, Jun 15»

Have you seen one fly over the cuckoo's nest?

Not, of course, that there is any such thing as a cuckoo's nest as they prefer to borrow the homes and rearing skills of others - but these strange ... «Western Morning News, Jun 15»

minimum wage for SA belongs in cloud cuckoo land

IN SEPTEMBER 2013, Cyril Ramaphosa said at Wits University that starting wages in SA were higher than the relative productivity of new ... «BDlive, Jun 15»

Wildbuzz: The cuckoo & 2 clarinets

On a hot summer afternoon, in the hush of the lush bush, the celebrated call of the Eurasian cuckoo drifts across the solitude like a dandelion ... «Hindustan Times, Jun 15»