Cornuted

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a husband whose wife has been unfaithful to him, an archaic term for being cheated on by a spouse
2. Betrayed in marriage by an unfaithful partner, a dated way of describing a man whose wife has taken another lover
3. Having been made a cuckold, a historical term for a man deceived by his wife's infidelity

Etymology: "Cornuted" is the past form of "cornute," an adjective meaning horned, borrowed from Latin "cornūtus," which itself comes from "cornu," the Latin word for horn. The Latin root also gave English "cornucopia," literally "horn of plenty," and "cornea," the transparent horn-like layer at the front of the eye. The Latin adjective "cornūtus" is built on "cornu" by the simple addition of a participial ending, so the meaning stays close to its physical source: something furnished with horns. English writers adopted "cornute" to describe creatures or objects with horn-like projections, a sense that remains its core meaning.

Synonyms: horned, cornute

Antonyms: hornless