cock
English meaning: Cock
Definition
A male bird, especially:
Example
“The cock crowed at dawn and woke the whole farm.”
Another example: “He cocked the rifle and waited in silence.”
Usage — When, Where & How
The neutral sense is a male bird, especially a rooster, common in rural and culinary contexts ('cock crow'). Note the word is also coarse slang for a body part, so learners should use it carefully. Also a verb ('cock a gun').
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Old English 'cocc', probably imitative of the bird's call; in English since before the 12th century.
Synonyms
- rooster
- cockerel
Antonyms / Opposites
- hen
Related Words
- crowed
- crowing
- hen
- cocked
- rooster
- doodle
- crows
- hens
- tavern
- penis
Common Collocations
- cock crow
- fighting cock
- cock and bull story
- cock the hammer
- weather cock
Word Forms
cock (n/v); cocks; cocked; cocking
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B