wittol

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But there is such a thing as a willing (or witting) cuckold, and he is known as a wittol.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun Archaic A man who knows of and tolerates his wife's infidelity.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (48)

 

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This word has been looked up 119 times.

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English wetewold : weten, to know (from Old English witan; see wit2) + (coke)wold, cuckold; see cuckold.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also wittal, wittall (also wittold, with excrescent d as in cuckold), orig. witwal, a particular use of witwal, the popinjay: see witwal. This bird was the subject of frequent ribald allusions, similar to the allusions to the cuckoo which are prominent in the English drama of Shakspere and his contemporaries and which produced the word cuckold. The addition of the notion of ‘knowing’ and submitting may be due to the popular association with wit, which produced the etymology from wit + all.
  2. Also wittal; from wittol, n.
 

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/ˈwɪtəl/
by American Heritage

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