Standard Lemma guide

coucal

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any bird of the genus Centropus in the cuckoo family Cuculidae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Old World ground-living cuckoo having a long dagger-like hind claw

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cuckoo

Narrower terms: crow pheasant, Centropus sinensis, pheasant coucal, pheasant cuckoo, Centropus phasianinus

History

Etymology

From French coucal, said to be a blend of coucou (“cuckoo”) + alouette (“lark”).

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: vleiloerie — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Assamese: কুকুহা (kukuha) — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Chichewa: mkuta — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Dutch: spoorkoekoek — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Finnish: kukaali — bird of the genus Centropus
  • German: Spornkuckuck — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Indonesian: bubut — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Kikuyu: gĩthima mbũri — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Russian: шпо́рцевая куку́шка (špórcevaja kukúška) — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Sundanese: dudut — bird of the genus Centropus
  • Vietnamese: bìm bịp — bird of the genus Centropus