Cuckquean

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A cuckquean is the wife of an adulterous husband (or partner for unmarried companions), and the gender-opposite of a cuckold.[1] In evolutionary biology, the term is also applied to females who are investing parental effort in offspring that are not genetically their own. Similar prying within a family is called wittoldry.[2] The term is derived from Early Modern English dating back to AD 1562[3][4] and is composed of the terms cuck[5] "someone whose partner is unfaithful" and quean "disreputable woman".[6]

  1. ^ Coleman, Julie (1 January 1999). Love, Sex, and Marriage: A Historical Thesaurus. Rodopi. ISBN 9042004339. Retrieved 22 November 2016 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Amussen, Susan D. "The Contradictions of Patriarchy in Early Modern England." (2018).
  3. ^ Heywood, John (1562). The Proverbs and Epigrams of John Heywood (A.D. 1562). p. 62 II.vi – via Google Books. Ye make hir a cookqueane, and conſume hir good.
  4. ^ Williams, Gordon (13 September 2001). A Dictionary of Sexual Language and Imagery in Shakespearean and Stuart Literature: Three Volume Set Volume I A-F Volume II G-P Volume III Q-Z. A&C Black. ISBN 9780485113938. Retrieved 22 November 2016 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster: cuck
  6. ^ Merriam-Webster: queane