Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cloud-cuckoo-land” come from?

cloud-cuckoo-land (English) comes from Ancient Greek Νεφελοκοκκυγία, from Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂, from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

cloud-cuckoo-land (English): An imaginary place where silly or unrealistic...

Definitions

  1. An imaginary place where silly or unrealistic...

Ancestry of “cloud-cuckoo-land”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient GreekΝεφελοκοκκυγία—
2Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
3Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
4Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →