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cockleshell

American  
[kok-uhl-shel] / ˈkɒk əlˌʃɛl /

noun

  1. a shell of the cockle.

  2. a shell of some other mollusk, as the scallop.

  3. Nautical. any light or frail vessel.

cockleshell British  
/ ˈkɒkəlˌʃɛl /

noun

  1. the shell of the cockle

  2. any of the valves of the shells of certain other bivalve molluscs, such as the scallop

  3. any small light boat

  4. a badge worn by pilgrims

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cockleshell

First recorded in 1375–1425, cockleshell is from late Middle English cokille shell. See cockle 1, shell

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.