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Cock - 19 dictionary results

cock

1  [kok]
Use Cock in a Sentence
–noun
1. a male chicken; rooster.
2. the male of any bird, esp. of the gallinaceous kind.
3. Also called stopcock. a hand-operated valve or faucet, esp. 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)
a. the part of the lock that, by its fall or action, causes the discharge; hammer.
b. the position into which the cock, or hammer, is brought by being drawn partly or completely back, preparatory to firing.
5. Slang: Vulgar.
a. penis.
b. sexual relations with a man.
6. a weathercock.
7. aleader; 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)
12. to pull back and set the cock, or hammer, of (a firearm) preparatory to firing.
13. to draw back in preparation for throwing or hitting: He cocked his bat and waited for the pitch.
14. to set (a camera shutter or other mechanism) for tripping. Compare trip 1 (def. 28).
–verb (used without object)
15. to cock the firing mechanism of a firearm.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME cock, OE cocc; c. ON kokkr; orig. imit.

Related forms:
cocklike, adjective

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)
2. to stand or stick up conspicuously.
3. Scot. and New England. to strut; swagger; put on airs of importance.
–noun
4. the act of turning the head, a hat, etc., up or to one side in a jaunty or significant way.
5. the position of anything thus placed.
—Idiom
6. cock a snook. snook 2 (def. 2).
Origin:
1705–15; prob. special use of cock 1

cock

3  [kok]
–noun Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.
1. a conical pile of hay, dung, etc.
–verb (used with object)
2. to pile (hay, dung, etc.) in cocks.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME; c. dial. G Kocke heap of hay or dung, Norw kok heap, lump; akin to ON kǫkkr lump
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Cock
cock 1   (kŏk)   
n.  
    1. An adult male chicken; a rooster.
    2. An adult male of various other birds.
    3. The hammer of a firearm.
    4. The position of the hammer of a firearm when ready for firing.
  2. A weathervane shaped like a rooster; a weathercock.
  3. A leader or chief.
  4. A faucet or valve by which the flow of a liquid or gas can be regulated.
    1. The hammer of a firearm.
    2. The position of the hammer of a firearm when ready for firing.
  6. A tilting or jaunty turn upward: the cock of a hat.
  7. Vulgar Slang The penis.
  8. Archaic The characteristic cry of a rooster early in the morning.
v.   cocked, cock·ing, cocks

v.   tr.
  1. To set the hammer of (a firearm) in a position ready for firing.
  2. To set (a device, such as a camera shutter) in a position ready for use.
  3. To tilt or turn up or to one side, usually in a jaunty or alert manner: cocked an eyebrow in response to a silly question.
  4. To raise in preparation to throw or hit: cocked the bat before swinging at the pitch.
v.   intr.
  1. To set the hammer of a firearm in a position ready for firing.
  2. To turn or stick up.
  3. To strut; swagger.

[Middle English cok, from Old English cocc, probably from Late Latin coccus, from coco, a cackling, of imitative origin.]
cock 2   (kŏk)   
n.  A cone-shaped pile of straw or hay.
tr.v.   cocked, cock·ing, cocks
To arrange (straw or hay) into piles shaped like cones.

[Middle English cok.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cock

Cock\, n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation of the cry of the cock. Cf. Chicken.]

1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls.

2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.

Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! --Shak.

3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous]

Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us. --Addison.

4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.]

He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. --Shak.

5. A faucet or valve.

Note: Jonsons says, "The handly probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason." Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma crit[ae] galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb.

6. The style of gnomon of a dial. --Chambers.

7. The indicator of a balance. --Johnson.

8. The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch. --Knight.

Ball cock. See under Ball.

Chaparral cock. See under Chaparral.

Cock and bull story, an extravagant, boastful story; a canard.

Cock of the plains (Zo["o]l.) See Sage cock.

Cock of the rock (Zo["o]l.), a South American bird (Rupicola aurantia) having a beautiful crest.

Cock of the walk, a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors.

Cock of the woods. See Capercailzie.

Cock

Cock\ (k[o^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cocked (k[o^]kt); p. pr. & vb. n. Cocking.] [Cf. Gael. coc to cock.]

1. To set erect; to turn up.

Our Lightfoot barks, and cocks his ears. --Gay.

Dick would cock his nose in scorn. --Swift.

2. To shape, as a hat, by turning up the brim.

3. To set on one side in a pert or jaunty manner.

They cocked their hats in each other's faces. --Macaulay.

4. To turn (the eye) obliquely and partially close its lid, as an expression of derision or insinuation.

Cocked hat. (a) A hat with large, stiff flaps turned up to a peaked crown, thus making its form triangular; -- called also three-cornered hat .(b) A game similar to ninepins, except that only three pins are used, which are set up at the angles of a triangle.

Cock

Cock\, v. i. To strut; to swagger; to look big, pert, or menacing. --Addison.

Cock

Cock\, n. The act of cocking; also, the turn so given; as, a cock of the eyes; to give a hat a saucy cock.

Cock

Cock\, n. [It. cocca notch of an arrow.]

1. The notch of an arrow or crossbow.

2. The hammer in the lock of a firearm.

At cock, At full cock, with the hammer raised and ready to fire; -- said of firearms, also, jocularly, of one prepared for instant action.

At half cock. See under Half.

Cock feather (Archery), the feather of an arrow at right angles to the direction of the cock or notch. --Nares.

Cock

Cock\, v. t. To draw the hammer of (a firearm) fully back and set it for firing.

Cock

Cock\, v. i. To draw back the hammer of a firearm, and set it for firing.

Cocked, fired, and missed his man. --Byron.

Cock

Cock\, n. [Cf. Icel. k["o]kkr lump, Dan. kok heap, or E. cock to set erect.] A small concial pile of hay.

Cock

Cock\, v. t. To put into cocks or heaps, as hay.

Under the cocked hay. --Spenser.

Cock

Cock\, n. [Of. coque, F. coche, a small vessel, L. concha muscle shell, a vessel. See Coach, and cf. Cog a small boat.] A small boat.

Yond tall anchoring bark [appears] Diminished to her cock; her cock, a buoy Almost too small for sight. --Shak.

Cock

Cock\, n. A corruption or disguise of the word God, used in oaths. [Obs.] "By cock and pie." --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Cock
Spanish: gallo, macho,
German: der Hahn,
Japanese: おんどり
More Translations »

cock  (n1.)
O.E. cocc, O.Fr. coq, O.N. kokkr, all of echoic origin. O.E. cocc was a nickname for "one who strutted like a cock," thus a common term in the Middle Ages for a pert boy, used of scullions, apprentices, servants, etc. A common personal name till c.1500, it was affixed to Christian names as a pet diminutive, cf. Wilcox, Hitchcock, etc. Slang sense of "penis" is attested since 1618 (but cf. pillicock "penis," from c.1300). Cock-teaser is from 1891. Cock-sucker is used curiously for aggressively obnoxious men; the ancients would have understood the difference between passive and active roles; Catullus, writing of his boss, employs the useful L. insult irrumator, which means "someone who forces others to give him oral sex," hence "one who treats people with contempt." Cocky "arrogantly pert" (1768) originally meant "lecherous" (16c.); modern sense of "vain" is 18c. A cocker spaniel (1823) was trained to start woodcocks. Cock-and-bull is first recorded 1621, perhaps an allusion to Aesop's fables, with their incredible talking animals, or to a particular story, now forgotten. Fr. has parallel expression coq-à-l'âne.

cock  (n2.)
in various mechanical senses, such as cock of a faucet (1481) is of uncertain connection with cock (n1.), but Ger. has hahn "hen" in many of the same senses. The cock of an old matchlock firearm is 1566, hence half-cocked "with the cock lifted to the first catch, at which position the trigger does not act."

cock  (v.)
seeming contradictory senses of "to stand up" (as in cock one's ear), c.1600, and "to bend" (1898) are from the two cock nouns. The first is probably in reference to the posture of the bird's head or tail, the second to the firearm position. Also, cockeyed (1821 in a literal sense; the meaning "askew, foolish" is first recorded 1896). To cock ones hat carries the notion of "defiant boastfulness" also in M.E. cocken (c.1150) "to fight."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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