diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index f0d79b95d4..855654c75d 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -181,8 +181,6 @@ case "$host" in
     # mingw's ld has the --version-script parameter, but it requires a .def file
     # instead to work properly, therefore clear --version-script here and use
     # -Wl, to pass the .def file to the linker
-    # cygwin's ld has the --version-script parameter too, but for some reason
-    # it's working there as expected
     VERSION_SCRIPT_FLAGS="-Wl,"
     ;;
   * )
@@ -204,13 +202,12 @@ dnl are also linux specific.  The "network" and storage_fs drivers are known
 dnl to not work on macOS presently, so we also make a note if compiling
 dnl for that
 
-with_linux=no with_macos=no with_freebsd=no with_win=no with_cygwin=no
+with_linux=no with_macos=no with_freebsd=no with_win=no
 case $host in
   *-*-linux*) with_linux=yes ;;
   *-*-darwin*) with_macos=yes ;;
   *-*-freebsd*) with_freebsd=yes ;;
   *-*-mingw* | *-*-msvc* ) with_win=yes ;;
-  *-*-cygwin*) with_cygwin=yes ;;
 esac
 
 if test $with_linux = no; then
@@ -227,9 +224,6 @@ if test $with_freebsd = yes; then
     with_firewalld=no
 fi
 
-if test $with_cygwin = yes; then
-    with_vbox=no
-fi
 
 AM_CONDITIONAL([WITH_LINUX], [test "$with_linux" = "yes"])
 AM_CONDITIONAL([WITH_FREEBSD], [test "$with_freebsd" = "yes"])
@@ -778,9 +772,8 @@ if test "$enable_test_coverage" = yes; then
   WARN_CFLAGS=$save_WARN_CFLAGS
 fi
 
-dnl Cygwin, MinGW and MSVC checks
+dnl MinGW checks
 LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_COMMON
-LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_CYGWIN
 LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_MINGW
 LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_SYMBOLS
 LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_WINDRES
diff --git a/m4/virt-compile-pie.m4 b/m4/virt-compile-pie.m4
index a2df38ea72..da5cdf57b7 100644
--- a/m4/virt-compile-pie.m4
+++ b/m4/virt-compile-pie.m4
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_COMPILE_PIE],[
     PIE_CFLAGS=
     PIE_LDFLAGS=
     case "$host" in
-      *-*-mingw* | *-*-msvc* | *-*-cygwin* )
+      *-*-mingw* )
          ;; dnl All code is position independent on Win32 target
       *)
       gl_COMPILER_OPTION_IF([-fPIE -DPIE -pie], [
diff --git a/m4/virt-win-common.m4 b/m4/virt-win-common.m4
index b639866e64..ebc9d0836e 100644
--- a/m4/virt-win-common.m4
+++ b/m4/virt-win-common.m4
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-dnl The Cygwin, MinGW and MSVC common checks
+dnl The MinGW common checks
 dnl
 dnl Copyright (C) 2016 Red Hat, Inc.
 dnl
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_COMMON], [
   WIN32_EXTRA_LIBS=
 
   case "$host" in
-    *-*-mingw* | *-*-cygwin* | *-*-msvc* )
+    *-*-mingw* )
       WIN32_EXTRA_LIBS="-lole32 -loleaut32"
       # If the host is Windows, and shared libraries are disabled, we
       # need to add -DLIBVIRT_STATIC to the CFLAGS for proper linking
@@ -38,7 +38,5 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_COMMON], [
 
 AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_WIN_RESULT_COMMON], [
   details="CFLAGS='$WIN32_EXTRA_CFLAGS' LIBS='$WIN32_EXTRA_LIBS'"
-  LIBVIRT_RESULT([Cygwin], [$with_cygwin], [$details])
-  LIBVIRT_RESULT([MinGW], [$with_cygwin], [$details])
-  LIBVIRT_RESULT([MSVC], [$with_cygwin], [$details])
+  LIBVIRT_RESULT([MinGW], [$with_win], [$details])
 ])
diff --git a/m4/virt-win-cygwin.m4 b/m4/virt-win-cygwin.m4
deleted file mode 100644
index 211b3c2b7b..0000000000
--- a/m4/virt-win-cygwin.m4
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-dnl The Cygwin check
-dnl
-dnl Copyright (C) 2016 Red Hat, Inc.
-dnl
-dnl This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
-dnl modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
-dnl License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
-dnl version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
-dnl
-dnl This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-dnl but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-dnl MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
-dnl Lesser General Public License for more details.
-dnl
-dnl You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
-dnl License along with this library.  If not, see
-dnl <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-dnl
-
-AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_CYGWIN], [
-  CYGWIN_EXTRA_LDFLAGS=
-  CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD=
-  case "$host" in
-    *-*-cygwin*)
-      CYGWIN_EXTRA_LDFLAGS="-no-undefined"
-      CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD="${INTLLIBS}"
-      ;;
-  esac
-
-  AC_SUBST([CYGWIN_EXTRA_LDFLAGS])
-  AC_SUBST([CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD])
-])
diff --git a/m4/virt-win-symbols.m4 b/m4/virt-win-symbols.m4
index 66dd3b7b1c..eba5596e4b 100644
--- a/m4/virt-win-symbols.m4
+++ b/m4/virt-win-symbols.m4
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-dnl The Cygwin, MinGW and MSVC symbols checks
+dnl The MinGW symbols checks
 dnl
 dnl Copyright (C) 2016 Red Hat, Inc.
 dnl
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_SYMBOLS], [
   LIBVIRT_LXC_SYMBOL_FILE='$(srcdir)/libvirt_lxc.syms'
   LIBVIRT_QEMU_SYMBOL_FILE='$(srcdir)/libvirt_qemu.syms'
   case "$host" in
-    *-*-mingw* | *-*-msvc* )
+    *-*-mingw* )
       # Also set the symbol file to .def, so src/Makefile generates libvirt.def
       # from libvirt.syms and passes libvirt.def instead of libvirt.syms to the
       # linker
diff --git a/m4/virt-win-windres.m4 b/m4/virt-win-windres.m4
index af27f231b4..e913eb48b8 100644
--- a/m4/virt-win-windres.m4
+++ b/m4/virt-win-windres.m4
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-dnl The Cygwin, MinGW and MSVC windres checks
+dnl The MinGW windres checks
 dnl
 dnl Copyright (C) 2016 Red Hat, Inc.
 dnl
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_WIN_CHECK_WINDRES], [
   dnl Look for windres to build a Windows icon resource.
   with_windres=no
   case "$host" in
-    *-*-mingw* | *-*-cygwin* | *-*-msvc* )
+    *-*-mingw* )
       AC_CHECK_TOOL([WINDRES], [windres], [])
       if test "x$WINDRES" != "x"; then
         with_windres=yes
diff --git a/m4/virt-xdr.m4 b/m4/virt-xdr.m4
index a65407d955..83754157d9 100644
--- a/m4/virt-xdr.m4
+++ b/m4/virt-xdr.m4
@@ -22,18 +22,15 @@ AC_DEFUN([LIBVIRT_CHECK_XDR], [
   if test x"$with_remote" = x"yes" || test x"$with_libvirtd" = x"yes"; then
     dnl Where are the XDR functions?
     dnl If portablexdr is installed, prefer that.
-    dnl Otherwise try -lrpc (Cygwin) -lxdr (some MinGW), -lnsl (Solaris)
+    dnl Otherwise try -lxdr (some MinGW)
     dnl -ltirpc (glibc 2.13.90 or newer) or none (most Unix)
     AC_CHECK_LIB([portablexdr],[xdrmem_create],[],[
-      AC_SEARCH_LIBS([xdrmem_create],[rpc xdr nsl tirpc],[],
+      AC_SEARCH_LIBS([xdrmem_create],[xdr tirpc],[],
         [AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find a XDR library])])
     ])
     with_xdr="yes"
 
-    dnl check for cygwin's variation in xdr function names
-    AC_CHECK_FUNCS([xdr_u_int64_t],[],[],[#include <rpc/xdr.h>])
-
-    dnl Cygwin/recent glibc requires -I/usr/include/tirpc for <rpc/rpc.h>
+    dnl Recent glibc requires -I/usr/include/tirpc for <rpc/rpc.h>
     old_CFLAGS=$CFLAGS
     AC_CACHE_CHECK([where to find <rpc/rpc.h>], [lv_cv_xdr_cflags], [
       for add_CFLAGS in '' '-I/usr/include/tirpc' 'missing'; do
diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index d4042cf7ba..58355c5337 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ AM_LDFLAGS =	$(DRIVER_MODULES_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(COVERAGE_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(RELRO_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(NO_INDIRECT_LDFLAGS) \
-		$(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(MINGW_EXTRA_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(NULL)
 AM_LDFLAGS_MOD = \
@@ -450,8 +449,7 @@ endif WITH_MACOS
 libvirt_la_LDFLAGS += $(NULL)
 libvirt_la_BUILT_LIBADD += ../gnulib/lib/libgnu.la
 libvirt_la_LIBADD += \
-		    $(DRIVER_MODULES_LIBS) \
-		    $(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD)
+		    $(DRIVER_MODULES_LIBS)
 libvirt_la_CFLAGS = -DIN_LIBVIRT $(AM_CFLAGS)
 # Because we specify libvirt_la_DEPENDENCIES for $(LIBVIRT_SYMBOL_FILE), we
 # lose automake's automatic dependencies on an appropriate subset of
@@ -518,7 +516,7 @@ libvirt_qemu_la_LDFLAGS = \
 		$(AM_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(NULL)
 libvirt_qemu_la_CFLAGS = $(AM_CFLAGS)
-libvirt_qemu_la_LIBADD = libvirt.la $(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD)
+libvirt_qemu_la_LIBADD = libvirt.la
 
 libvirt_lxc_la_SOURCES = libvirt-lxc.c
 libvirt_lxc_la_LDFLAGS = \
@@ -528,7 +526,7 @@ libvirt_lxc_la_LDFLAGS = \
 		$(AM_LDFLAGS) \
 		$(NULL)
 libvirt_lxc_la_CFLAGS = $(AM_CFLAGS)
-libvirt_lxc_la_LIBADD = libvirt.la $(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD)
+libvirt_lxc_la_LIBADD = libvirt.la
 
 EXTRA_DIST += \
 	$(SYSCONF_FILES) \
diff --git a/src/admin/Makefile.inc.am b/src/admin/Makefile.inc.am
index 7ceccafa8e..b4e2f1f2d3 100644
--- a/src/admin/Makefile.inc.am
+++ b/src/admin/Makefile.inc.am
@@ -73,7 +73,6 @@ libvirt_admin_la_LDFLAGS = \
 
 libvirt_admin_la_LIBADD = \
 	libvirt.la \
-	$(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD) \
 	$(CAPNG_LIBS) \
 	$(YAJL_LIBS) \
 	$(DEVMAPPER_LIBS) \
diff --git a/src/locking/Makefile.inc.am b/src/locking/Makefile.inc.am
index 65b46ad5f3..d49383d9d7 100644
--- a/src/locking/Makefile.inc.am
+++ b/src/locking/Makefile.inc.am
@@ -162,7 +162,6 @@ virtlockd_LDADD = \
 	libvirt_driver_admin.la \
 	$(GLIB_LIBS) \
 	../gnulib/lib/libgnu.la \
-	$(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD) \
 	$(NULL)
 if WITH_DTRACE_PROBES
 virtlockd_LDADD += libvirt_probes.lo
diff --git a/src/logging/Makefile.inc.am b/src/logging/Makefile.inc.am
index 0f7ffa73b3..e8240fa5c4 100644
--- a/src/logging/Makefile.inc.am
+++ b/src/logging/Makefile.inc.am
@@ -99,7 +99,6 @@ virtlogd_LDADD = \
 		libvirt.la \
 		$(GLIB_LIBS) \
 		../gnulib/lib/libgnu.la \
-		$(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD) \
 		$(NULL)
 if WITH_DTRACE_PROBES
 virtlogd_LDADD += libvirt_probes.lo
diff --git a/src/rpc/Makefile.inc.am b/src/rpc/Makefile.inc.am
index 11920b3270..0e154d9c69 100644
--- a/src/rpc/Makefile.inc.am
+++ b/src/rpc/Makefile.inc.am
@@ -97,7 +97,6 @@ libvirt_net_rpc_la_LDFLAGS = \
 	$(SECDRIVER_LIBS) \
 	$(AM_LDFLAGS) \
 	$(NULL)
-libvirt_net_rpc_la_LIBADD = $(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD)
 
 libvirt_net_rpc_server_la_SOURCES = \
 	rpc/virnetserverprogram.h \
@@ -122,7 +121,6 @@ libvirt_net_rpc_server_la_LDFLAGS = \
 	$(AM_LDFLAGS) \
 	$(DBUS_LIBS) \
 	$(NULL)
-libvirt_net_rpc_server_la_LIBADD = $(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD)
 
 libvirt_net_rpc_client_la_SOURCES = \
 	rpc/virnetclientprogram.h \
@@ -138,7 +136,6 @@ libvirt_net_rpc_client_la_CFLAGS = \
 	$(XDR_CFLAGS) \
 	$(NULL)
 libvirt_net_rpc_client_la_LDFLAGS = $(AM_LDFLAGS)
-libvirt_net_rpc_client_la_LIBADD = $(CYGWIN_EXTRA_LIBADD)
 
 if WITH_SASL
 libvirt_net_rpc_client_la_CFLAGS += \
diff --git a/src/rpc/genprotocol.pl b/src/rpc/genprotocol.pl
index 6baa4f22d5..f567260588 100755
--- a/src/rpc/genprotocol.pl
+++ b/src/rpc/genprotocol.pl
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ open RPCGEN, "-|", "$rpcgen $mode $xdrdef"
 open TARGET, ">$target"
     or die "cannot create $target: $!";
 
-my $fixup = $^O eq "linux" || $^O eq "cygwin" || $^O eq "gnukfreebsd" || $^O eq "freebsd" || $^O eq "darwin";
+my $fixup = $^O eq "linux" || $^O eq "gnukfreebsd" || $^O eq "freebsd" || $^O eq "darwin";
 
 if ($mode eq "-c") {
     print TARGET "#include <config.h>\n";
diff --git a/src/util/virsocketaddr.h b/src/util/virsocketaddr.h
index 1180864f06..66aee2abcd 100644
--- a/src/util/virsocketaddr.h
+++ b/src/util/virsocketaddr.h
@@ -26,16 +26,6 @@
 
 #include "internal.h"
 
-/* On architectures which lack these limits, define them (ie. Cygwin).
- * Note that the libvirt code should be robust enough to handle the
- * case where actual value is longer than these limits (eg. by setting
- * length correctly in second argument to gethostname and by always
- * using strncpy instead of strcpy).
- */
-#ifndef INET_ADDRSTRLEN
-# define INET_ADDRSTRLEN 16
-#endif
-
 #define VIR_LOOPBACK_IPV4_ADDR "127.0.0.1"
 
 typedef struct {
diff --git a/src/util/virxdrdefs.h b/src/util/virxdrdefs.h
index 264d02e7cd..b6f6ad5a4d 100644
--- a/src/util/virxdrdefs.h
+++ b/src/util/virxdrdefs.h
@@ -20,18 +20,8 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-/* cygwin's xdr implementation defines xdr_u_int64_t instead of xdr_uint64_t
- * and lacks IXDR_PUT_INT32 and IXDR_GET_INT32
+/* The portablexdr implementation lacks IXDR_PUT_U_INT32 and IXDR_GET_U_INT32
  */
-#ifdef HAVE_XDR_U_INT64_T
-# define xdr_uint64_t xdr_u_int64_t
-#endif
-#ifndef IXDR_PUT_INT32
-# define IXDR_PUT_INT32 IXDR_PUT_LONG
-#endif
-#ifndef IXDR_GET_INT32
-# define IXDR_GET_INT32 IXDR_GET_LONG
-#endif
 #ifndef IXDR_PUT_U_INT32
 # define IXDR_PUT_U_INT32 IXDR_PUT_U_LONG
 #endif