wittol

W4I1T1T1O1L1
/ˈwɪtəl/

noun

A man who knows and tolerates his wife's infidelity with another man or men; a mari complaisant.

OriginMiddle English witewold →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounwittol (plural wittols)

plural wittols · alternative wittold

  1. archaicA man who knows and tolerates his wife's infidelity with another man or men; a mari complaisant.

    To see […] a wittol wink at his wife's honesty, and too perspicuous in all other affairs […]

    1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Democritus Iunior to the Reader”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York: New York Review Books, published 2001, →ISBN, page 67
    2 more examples

    So the Ifrit cried at her, "Thou whorest and makest me a wittol with thine eyes;" and struck her so that her head went flying.

    1885–1888, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, “Night 13”, in A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, now Entituled The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night […], Shammar edition, volume (please specify the volume), [London]: […] Burton Club […], →OCLC

    God help the husband that obliges his wife's least whim: he'll be a wittol ere he's two years wed!

    1960, John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor
  2. UKdialectalobsoleteA bird, the wheatear.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
mari complaisantplonker

Origin

  1. Middle Englishwitewold
  2. Englishwittol

From Middle English witewold; likely a blend of witen (“to know”) + cockewold (“cuckold”), equivalent to wit + cuckold.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan marit còmode, cabró
  • marit còmodeman who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity
  • cabróman who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity
Italian cornuto contento, becco
  • cornuto contentoman who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity
  • beccoman who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity
Portuguese corno manso
  • corno mansoman who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity
Welsh cwcwallt trugarog
  • cwcwallt trugarogman who knows and tolerates his wife’s infidelity

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with wittol

brittlewhittleacquittalsagittalcommittalbelittlespittleBittleskittleHittlevictualdorsosagittalectosagittaljot and tittlemediosagittalmidsagittalnonsagittalparasagittalpittlepseudosagittal
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

whittle

Anagrams

Titlow
Cite this entry
APA

wittol. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wittol

MLA

“wittol.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wittol. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wittol,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wittol.

Source: wittol on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.