CUCKOO

cuckoo

(noun) any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail

fathead, goof, goofball, bozo, jackass, goose, cuckoo, twat, zany

(noun) a man who is a stupid incompetent fool

cuckoo

(verb) repeat monotonously, like a cuckoo repeats his call

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

cuckoo (countable and uncountable, plural cuckoos)

Any of various birds, of the family Cuculidae, famous for laying its eggs in the nests of other species; but especially the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, that has a characteristic two-note call.

The sound of that particular bird.

The bird-shaped figure found in cuckoo clocks.

The cuckoo clock itself.

A person who inveigles themselves into a place where they should not be (used especially in the phrase a cuckoo in the nest).

(slang) Someone who is crazy.

Alternative form of coo-coo (“Barbadian food”)

Verb

cuckoo (third-person singular simple present cuckoos, present participle cuckooing, simple past and past participle cuckooed)

To make the call of a cuckoo.

To repeat something incessantly.

Adjective

cuckoo (comparative more cuckoo, superlative most cuckoo)

(slang) Crazy; not sane.

Source: Wiktionary

Cuck"oo (kk"), n. Etym: [OE. coccou, cukkow, F. coucou, prob. of imitative origin; cf. L. cuculus, Gr. k, G. kuckuk, D. koekoek.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: A bird belonging to Cuculus, Coccyzus, and several allied genera, of many species.

Note: The European cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) builds no nest of its own, but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, to be hatched by them. The American yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus Americanus) and the black-billed cuckoo (C. erythrophthalmus) build their own nests. Cuckoo bee (Zool.), a bee, parasitic in the larval stage in the nests of other bees, feeding either upon their food or larvae. They belong to the genera Nomada, Melecta, Epeolus, and others.

– Cuckoo clock, a clock so constructed that at the time for striking it gives forth sounds resembling the cry of the cuckoo.

– Cuckoo dove (Zoöl.), a long-tailed pigeon of the genus Macropygia. Many species inhabit the East Indies.

– Cuckoo fish (Zoöl.), the European red gurnard (Trigla cuculus). The name probably alludes to the sound that it utters.

– Cuckoo falcon (Zoöl.), any falcon of the genus Baza. The genus inhabits Africa and the East Indies.

– Cuckoo maid (Zoöl.), the wryneck; -- called also cuckoo mate.

– Cuckoo ray (Zoöl.), a British ray (Raia miraletus).

– Cuckoo spit, or Cuckoo spittle. (a) A frothy secretion found upon plants, exuded by the larvae of certain insects, for concealment; -- called also toad spittle and frog spit. (b) (Zoöl.) A small hemipterous insect, the larva of which, living on grass and the leaves of plants, exudes this secretion. The insects belong to Aphrophora, Helochara, and allied genera.

– Ground cuckoo, the chaparral cock.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition