cocky
1 American
[kok-ee]
/ ˈkɒk i /
adjective
cockier,
cockiest
cocky
3
American
[kok-ee]
/ ˈkɒk i /
verb (used without object)
Newfoundland.
cockied,
cockying
cocky
1
British
/ ˈkɒkɪ /
noun
-
short for cockatoo
-
a farmer whose farm is regarded as small or of little account
cocky
2
British
/ ˈkɒkɪ /
adjective
Other Word Forms
- cockily adverb
- cockiness noun
Etymology
Origin of cocky1
First recorded in 1540–50; cock 1 + -y 1
Origin of cocky2
First recorded in 1830–40; cock(atoo), cock(atiel) + -y 2
Origin of cocky3
Apparently a playful alteration, by association with cocky 1
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.