cockatoo

[ kok-uh-too, kok-uh-too ]

noun

, plural cock·a·toos.

1. any of numerous large, noisy, crested parrots of the genera Cacatua, Callocephalon, Calyptorhynchus, etc., of the Australasian region, having chiefly white plumage tinged with yellow, pink, or red: popular as a pet.
2. Australian.
   1. a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
   2. Slang. a lookout posted by criminals or the operators of illegal gambling games.

cockatoo

/ ˌkɒkəˈtuː; ˈkɒkəˌtuː /

noun

1. any of various parrots of the genus Kakatoe and related genera, such as K. galerita ( sulphur-crested cockatoo ), of Australia and New Guinea. They have an erectile crest and most of them are light-coloured
2. a small farmer or settler
3. informal.
   a lookout during some illegal activity

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockatoo¹

1610–20; < Dutch kaketoe < Malay kakatua, perhaps etymologizing alteration of Central Moluccan jaka any psittacine bird, by association with Malay kakak sibling, kakak tua older sibling); spelling copies cock ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockatoo¹

C17: from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua

Example Sentences

Ellie, an 11-year-old Goffin’s cockatoo, tapped the “happy” button on her tablet app when Jennifer Cunha, her owner and a visiting research associate at Indiana University, returned from being away.Credit...

From New York Times

The paper, which is being presented at a science conference on Tuesday, focuses on Ms. Cunha’s parrot, an 11-year-old Goffin’s cockatoo named Ellie.

From New York Times

A pair of lovebirds, a peregrine falcon, three pink-breasted finches, and a king cockatoo fluttered into the air in a plume of feathers and a cloud of bird feed.

From Literature

Over the years, Fine incorporated dogs, bearded dragons, a cockatoo, fish and other animals into his work with children.

From Seattle Times

The modest back house has been home not just to Ruiz but her husband and son, the couple’s four dogs and two tropical birds — Ludina the macaw and Sofia, a white cockatoo.

From Los Angeles Times