Etymograph

English

cornuto

Cornuto comes from Italian cornuto ‘horned’, from Latin cornū ‘horn’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1‘horn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorh₂u1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kornū2‘horn’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornū3‘horn’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornūtus4‘horned’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcornuto4‘horned’
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1597cornuto4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornū
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin cornu
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin cornutus
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English cornuto
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor: “No, Master Brook, but the peaking cornuto / her…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornū‘horn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱorh₂uWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kornūreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kornūWiktionary, Latin cornu‘horn’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornūWiktionary, Latin cornutus‘horn’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcornūtusWiktionary, English cornuto‘horned’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentcornutoWiktionary, English cornuto‘horned’
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1597cornutoWiktionary, English cornuto. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1597, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor: “No, Master Brook, but the peaking cornuto / her…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘horn’

cheer, hart, horn, cerebral, crater, grail, migraine, carotid, procrastinate, cerebellum, cranium, cairn, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 49 more

through Proto-Italic *kornū ‘horn’

cornetto, 20 more

through Latin cornū ‘horn’

corny, cornea, cornet, 21 more

Today it means

noun A cuckold.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cornuto”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kornū, Latin cornu, Latin cornutus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- / cornuto

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