Cuckoo

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cuckoo \Cuck"oo\ (k[oo^]k"[=oo]), n. [OE. coccou, cukkow, F.
     coucou, prob. of imitative origin; cf. L. cuculus, Gr. ????,
     Skr. k?ki?a, G. kuckuk, D. koekoek.] (Zool.)
     A bird belonging to {Cuculus}, {Coccyzus}, and several allied
     genera, of many species.
     [1913 Webster]


  
     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 ({Coccyzus erythrophthalmus}) build
           their own nests.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Cuckoo clock}, a clock so constructed that at the time for
        striking it gives forth sounds resembling the cry of the
        cuckoo.
  
     {Cuckoo dove} (Zool.), a long-tailed pigeon of the genus
        {Macropygia}. Many species inhabit the East Indies.
  
     {Cuckoo fish} (Zool.), the European red gurnard ({Trigla
        cuculus}). The name probably alludes to the sound that it
        utters.
  
     {Cuckoo falcon} (Zool.), any falcon of the genus {Baza}. The
        genus inhabits Africa and the East Indies.
  
     {Cuckoo maid} (Zool.), the wryneck; -- called also {cuckoo
        mate}.
  
     {Cuckoo ray} (Zool.), 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) (Zool.) 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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  cuckoo
       n 1: a man who is a stupid incompetent fool [syn: {fathead}, {goof},
             {goofball}, {bozo}, {jackass}, {goose}, {twat}, {zany}]
       2: any of numerous European and North American birds having
          pointed wings and a long tail
       v : repeat monotonously, like a cuckoo repeats his call

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  140 Moby Thesaurus words for "cuckoo":
     Philomel, ape, balmy, bananas, barmy, bats, batty, beany, bonkers,
     buggy, bughouse, bugs, bulbul, cackle, call, canary, carol, caw,
     chatter, cheep, chirk, chirp, chirr, chirrup, chitter, chuck,
     clack, cluck, cock-a-doodle-doo, conformist, coo, copier, copycat,
     copyist, counterfeiter, crackbrain, crackbrained, cracked,
     crackers, crank, cranky, crazed, crazy, croak, cronk, crow, daffy,
     daft, ding-a-ling, dippy, dissembler, dissimulator, dotty, drum,
     echo, echoer, echoist, faker, feathered songster, flaky, flipped,
     forger, freaked-out, fruitcakey, fruity, gabble, gaga, gaggle,
     gobble, goofy, guggle, harebrain, haywire, honk, hoo, hoot,
     hypocrite, imitator, impersonator, impostor, just plain nuts, kook,
     kooky, lark, loony, loopy, lunatic, mavis, mime, mimer, mimic,
     mimicker, mocker, mockingbird, monkey, nightingale, nut, nuts,
     nutty, off the hinges, off the track, off the wall, oriole, parrot,
     peep, phony, pip, pipe, plagiarist, poll-parrot, polly,
     polly-parrot, poseur, potty, quack, ringdove, roll, round the bend,
     scold, screwball, screwballs, screwy, sheep, simulator, sing,
     singing bird, slaphappy, song sparrow, songbird, songster, squawk,
     thrush, trill, tweet, twit, twitter, wacky, warble, warbler,
     whistle
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Cuckoo
     (Heb. shahaph), from a root meaning "to be lean; slender." This
     bird is mentioned only in Lev. 11:16 and Deut. 14:15 (R.V.,
     "seamew"). Some have interpreted the Hebrew word by "petrel" or
     "shearwater" (Puffinus cinereus), which is found on the coast of
     Syria; others think it denotes the "sea-gull" or "seamew." The
     common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) feeds on reptiles and large
     insects. It is found in Asia and Africa as well as in Europe. It
     only passes the winter in Palestine. The Arabs suppose it to
     utter the cry _Yakub_, and hence they call it _tir el-Yakub_;
     i.e., "Jacob's bird."