cuckoo : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: cuckoo	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for cuckoo
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
cuckoo n a man who is a stupid incompetent fool [syn: fathead, goof, goofball, bozo, jackass, goose, cuckoo, twat, zany] 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 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Cuckoo \Cuck"oo\ (k??k"??), n. [OE. coccou, cukkow, F. coucou, prob. of imitative origin; cf. L. cuculus, Gr. [?][?][?][?], Skr. k[?]ki[?]a, G. kuckuk, D. koekoek.] (Zo[94]l.) 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} (Zo[94]l.), a long-tailed pigeon of the genus {Macropygia}. Many species inhabit the East Indies. {Cuckoo fish} (Zo[94]l.), the European red gurnard ({Trigla cuculus}). The name probably alludes to the sound that it utters. {Cuckoo falcon} (Zo[94]l.), any falcon of the genus {Baza}. The genus inhabits Africa and the East Indies. {Cuckoo maid} (Zo[94]l.), the wryneck; -- called also {cuckoo mate}. {Cuckoo ray} (Zo[94]l.), 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) (Zo[94]l.) 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.
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."