cock

¹

[ kok ]

noun

1. a male chicken; rooster.
2. the male of any bird, especially a gallinaceous bird.
3. Also called stopcock. a hand-operated valve or faucet, especially one opened or closed by rotating a cylindrical or tapered plug having part of the passage pierced through it from side to side.
4. (in a firearm)
   1. the part of the lock that, by its fall or action, causes the discharge; hammer.
   2. the position into which the cock, or hammer, is brought by being drawn partly or completely back, preparatory to firing.
5. Slang: Vulgar.
   1. penis.
   2. sexual relations with a man.
6. a weathercock.
7. a leader; chief person.
8. Chiefly British Informal. pal; chum.
9. British Slang. nonsense.
10. Horology. a bracketlike plate holding bearings, supported at one end only. Compare bridge ¹( def 17 ).
11. Archaic. the time of the crowing of the cock; early in the morning; cockcrow.

verb (used with object)

1. to pull back and set the cock, or hammer, of (a firearm) preparatory to firing.
2. to draw back in preparation for throwing or hitting:

   He cocked his bat and waited for the pitch.

3. to set (a camera shutter or other mechanism) for tripping. Compare trip ¹( def 28 ).

verb (used without object)

1. to cock the firing mechanism of a firearm.

cock

²

[ kok ]

verb (used with object)

1. to set or turn up or to one side, often in an assertive, jaunty, or significant manner:

   He cocked his eyebrow questioningly.

verb (used without object)

1. to stand or stick up conspicuously.
2. Scot. and New England. to strut; swagger; put on airs of importance.

noun

1. the act of turning the head, a hat, etc., up or to one side in a jaunty or significant way.
2. the position of anything thus placed.

cock

³

[ kok ]

noun

, Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.

1. a conical pile of hay, dung, etc.

verb (used with object)

1. to pile (hay, dung, etc.) in cocks.

cock

¹

/ kɒk /

noun

1. the male of the domestic fowl
2. 1. any other male bird
   2. the male of certain other animals, such as the lobster
   3. ( as modifier )

      a cock sparrow

3. short for stopcock weathercock
4. a taboo slang word for penis
5. 1. the hammer of a firearm
   2. its position when the firearm is ready to be discharged
6. informal.
   a friend, mate, or fellow
7. a jaunty or significant tilting or turning upwards

   a cock of the head

8. informal.
   nonsense

verb

1. tr to set the firing pin, hammer, or breech block of (a firearm) so that a pull on the trigger will release it and thus fire the weapon
2. tr to set the shutter mechanism of (a camera) so that the shutter can be tripped by pressing the shutter-release button
3. trsometimes foll byup to raise in an alert or jaunty manner
4. intr to stick or stand up conspicuously

cock

²

/ kɒk /

noun

1. a small, cone-shaped heap of hay, straw, etc

verb

1. tr to stack (hay, straw, etc) in such heaps

Other Words From

• cock·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cock¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English coc, cock, cocke, Old English coc, cocc; cognate with Old Norse kokkr; imitative of a rooster's crow

Origin of cock²

First recorded in 1705–15; probably special use of cock ¹

Origin of cock³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cok “cock (of hay), shock (of grain)”; cognate with dialectal German Kocke “heap of hay or dung”; akin to Norwegian kok “heap, lump,” Old Norse kǫkkr “lump”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cock¹

Old English cocc (referring to the male fowl; the development of C15 sense spout, tap, and other transferred senses is not clear), ultimately of imitative origin; related to Old Norse kokkr, French coq, Late Latin coccus

Origin of cock²

C14 (in Old English, cocc is attested in place names): perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian kok, Danish dialect kok

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cock a snook. snook ²( def 2 ).

Example Sentences

Tuss′ock-grass, a large grass of the same genus with the Cock's-foot Grass of Britain, native to the Falkland Islands, remarkable for forming great tufts—also Tuss′ac-grass; Tuss′ock-moth, a grayish-white moth about an inch long, the caterpillars of which do great mischief in hop-grounds, and are known as Hop-dogs.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

"Shan" is "hill," so Chi-huan-shan is Cock's-comb Hill, and I-tzee-shan, Chair Hill.

From Project Gutenberg

De Patterolles come frum diffe'nt places, an' de Tank'sleys, de Potts, de Cock'ells an' de Greg'rys was neighbors.

From Project Gutenberg

Cock's-comb, varieties of the, i.

From Project Gutenberg

A variety of the Common Cock's-comb Kale, with the leaves more or less variegated with purple and white.

From Project Gutenberg