cock

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

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

•  The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls.  [1913 Webster]
•  A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.  [1913 Webster]

  "Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!"  [1913 Webster]
•  A chief man; a leader or master.  [1913 Webster]

  "Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us."  [1913 Webster]
•  The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow.  [1913 Webster]

  "He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock."  [1913 Webster]
•  A faucet or valve.  [1913 Webster]

  " Jonsons says, “The handle 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 critæ galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb."  [1913 Webster]
•  The style of gnomon of a dial.  Chambers.  [1913 Webster]
•  The indicator of a balance.  Johnson.  [1913 Webster]
•  The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch.  Knight.  [1913 Webster]
•  a penis.  [PJC]

Ball cock. See under Ball. -- Chaparral cock. See under Chaparral. -- Cock and bull story, an extravagant, boastful story; a canard. -- Cock of the plains (Zoöl.) See Sage cock. -- Cock of the rock (Zoöl.), 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, v. t. [Cf. Gael. coc to cock.].

•  To set erect; to turn up.  [1913 Webster]

  "Our Lightfoot barks, and cocks his ears."  [1913 Webster]

  "Dick would cock his nose in scorn."  [1913 Webster]
•  To shape, as a hat, by turning up the brim.  [1913 Webster]
•  To set on one side in a pert or jaunty manner.  [1913 Webster]

  "They cocked their hats in each other's faces."  [1913 Webster]
•  To turn (the eye) obliquely and partially close its lid, as an expression of derision or insinuation.  [1913 Webster]

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<-- or tricorn -->. (b) A game similar to ninepins, except that only three pins are used, which are set up at the angles of a triangle.

cock, v. i. 

 To strut; to swagger; to look big, pert, or menacing.  Addison.  [1913 Webster]

cock, n. 

 The act of cocking; also, the turn so given; as, a cock of the eyes; to give a hat a saucy cock.  [1913 Webster]

cock, n. [It. cocca notch of an arrow.].

•  The notch of an arrow or crossbow.  [1913 Webster]
•  The hammer in the lock of a firearm.  [1913 Webster]

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, v. t. 

 To draw the hammer of (a firearm) fully back and set it for firing.  [1913 Webster]

cock, v. i. 

 To draw back the hammer of a firearm, and set it for firing.  [1913 Webster]
"Cocked, fired, and missed his man."  [1913 Webster]

cock, n. [Cf. Icel. kökkr lump, Dan. kok heap, or E. cock to set erect.].

 A small concial pile of hay.  [1913 Webster]

cock, v. t. 

 To put into cocks or heaps, as hay.  [1913 Webster]
"Under the cocked hay."  [1913 Webster]

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.  [1913 Webster]
"Yond tall anchoring bark [appears]
Diminished to her cock; her cock, a buoy
Almost too small for sight."  [1913 Webster]

cock, n. 

 A corruption or disguise of the word God, used in oaths.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

cock, n. & v.
--n.
1 a a male bird, esp. of a domestic fowl. b a male lobster, crab, or salmon. c = WOODCOCK.
2 Brit. sl. (usu. old cock as a form of address) a friend; a fellow.
3 coarse sl. the penis.
4 Brit. sl. nonsense.

Idiom

at half cock only partly ready. cock-a-doodle-doo a cock's crow. cock-and-bull story an absurd or incredible account. cock crow dawn. cocked hat a brimless triangular hat pointed at the front, back, and top. cock-fight a fight between cocks as sport. cock-fighting this sport. cock-of-the-rock a S. American bird, Rupicola rupicola, having a crest and bright orange plumage. cock-of-the-walk a dominant or arrogant person. cock-of-the-wood
1 a capercaillie.
2 US a red-crested woodpecker.
cock-shy
1 a a target for throwing at with sticks, stones, etc. b a throw at this.
2 an object of ridicule or criticism. cock a snook see SNOOK(1).
cock sparrow
1 a male sparrow.
2 a lively quarrelsome person. cock up Brit. sl. bungle; make a mess of. cock-up n. Brit. sl. a muddle or mistake. knock into a cocked hat defeat utterly.

Usage

In senses 3, 4 usually considered a taboo word.
5 a a firing lever in a gun which can be raised to be released by the trigger. b the cocked position of this (at full cock).
6 a tap or valve controlling flow.
--v.tr.
1 raise or make upright or erect.
2 turn or move (the eye or ear) attentively or knowingly.
3 set aslant, or turn up the brim of (a hat).
4 raise the cock of (a gun).

cock, n. & v.
--n. a small pile of hay, straw, etc. with vertical sides and a rounded top.
--v.tr. pile into cocks.

Etymology

ME, perh. of Scand. orig.

THESAURUS

cock

Bantam, anemograph, anemometer, anemometrograph, anemoscope, anthill, backslide, ball cock, ball valve, baloney, bank, banty, barn-door fowl, barnyard fowl, biddy, bilge, billy, billy goat, boar, bosh, boss, broiler, brooder, broody hen, bubbly-jock, buck, bull, bullock, bung, bunghole, bunkum, capital, capon, chanticleer, charge, check valve, chick, chickabiddy, chicken, chicky, chief, chieftain, cockerel, cork, crap, detonate, discharge, dog, domestic fowl, dominant, drain cock, drake, draw cock, drift, drop, duck, duckling, dune, dunghill fowl, eject, embankment, entire, entire horse, fall astern, fall behind, faucet, fell, fire, fire off, fowl, fryer, game fowl, gander, gate, get behind, get up steam, go backwards, go behind, gobbler, goose, gosling, guff, guinea cock, guinea fowl, guinea hen, gun, gun for, hart, haycock, haymow, hayrick, haystack, he-goat, head, headman, heap, hen, hen turkey, hierarch, hill, hit, hokum, honcho, hydrant, jerk back, lapse, leader, let fly, let off, lid, load, lose ground, main, major, mass, master, molehill, mound, mountain, mow, needle valve, number one, outstanding, partlet, peacock, peg, pelt, pepper, petcock, pick off, pile, pin, pistol, plug, pontificate, pot, potshoot, potshot, poulard, poult, poultry, predominant, preeminent, prime, principal, pull back, pullet, pyramid, ram, recede, recidivate, regress, relapse, retrocede, retroflex, retrograde, retrogress, return, revert, rick, riddle, roaster, rooster, rot, ruck, sea cock, set, setting hen, shock, shoot, shoot at, shoot down, slip back, snipe, snowdrift, spigot, spike, spile, spill, spring chicken, stack, stag, stallion, steam up, steer, stewing chicken, stop, stopcock, stopgap, stopper, stopple, stot, strike, stud, studhorse, swagger, swank, swell, take a potshot, tap, tom, tom turkey, tomcat, top cow, top horse, torpedo, tup, turkey, turkey gobbler, turkey-cock, valve, valvula, valvule, vane, warm up, weather vane, weathercock, wether, wind, wind cone, wind indicator, wind sock, wind up, wind vane, wind-speed indicator

ROGET THESAURUS

cock

Animal

N animal, animal kingdom, fauna, brute creation, beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being, creeping thing, living thing, dumb animal, dumb creature, zoophyte, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe, microbe, animalcule, alligator, crocodile, saurian, dinosaur (extinct), snake, serpent, viper, eft, asp, aspick, frog, toad, trout, bass, tuna, muskelunge, sailfish, sardine, mackerel, ant, mosquito, bee, honeybee, tardigrade, spider, biped, quadruped, webfoot, flocks and herds, live stock, domestic animals, wild animals, game, ferae naturae, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, denizens of the sea, black game, black grouse, blackcock, duck, grouse, plover, rail, snipe, horse, cattle, kine, ox, bull, bullock, cow, milch cow, calf, heifer, shorthorn, sheep, lamb, lambkin, ewe, ram, tup, pig, swine, boar, hog, sow, steer, stot, tag, teg, bison, buffalo, yak, zebu, dog, cat, dog, hound, pup, puppy, whelp, cur, mongrel, house dog, watch dog, sheep dog, shepherd's dog, sporting dog, fancy dog, lap dog, toy dog, bull dog, badger dog, mastiff, blood hound, grey hound, stag hound, deer hound, fox hound, otter hound, harrier, beagle, spaniel, pointer, setter, retriever, Newfoundland, water dog, water spaniel, pug, poodle, turnspit, terrier, fox terrier, Skye terrier, Dandie Dinmont, collie, feline, puss, pussy, grimalkin, gib cat, tom cat, fox, Reynard, vixen, stag, deer, hart, buck, doe, roe, caribou, coyote, elk, moose, musk ox, sambar, bird, poultry, fowl, cock, hen, chicken, chanticleer, partlet, rooster, dunghill cock, barn door fowl, feathered tribes, feathered songster, singing bird, dicky bird, canary, warbler, finch, aberdevine, cushat, cygnet, ringdove, siskin, swan, wood pigeon, vermin, varmint, pest, animal, zoological equine, bovine, vaccine, canine, feline, fishy, piscatory, piscatorial, molluscous, vermicular, gallinaceous, rasorial, solidungulate, soliped.

Man

N man, male, he, him, manhood, gentleman, sir, master, sahib, yeoman, wight, swain, fellow, blade, beau, elf, chap, gaffer, good man, husband, Mr, mister, boy, cock, drake, gander, dog, boar, stag, hart, buck, horse, entire horse, stallion, gibcat, tomcat, he goat, Billy goat, ram, tup, bull, bullock, capon, ox, gelding, steer, stot, androgen, homosexual, gay, queen, male, he-, masculine, manly, virile, unwomanly, unfeminine, Pron, he, him, his, hominem pagina nostra sapit, homo homini aut deus aut lupus, homo vitae commodatus non donatus est.

Indication

N indication, symbolism, symbolization, semiology, semiotics, semeiology, semeiotics, Zeitgeist, characteristic, diagnostic, lineament, feature, trait, fingerprint, voiceprint, footprint, noseprint, cloven hoof, footfall, recognition (memory), diagnostic, divining rod, detector, sign, symbol, index, indice, indicator, point, pointer, exponent, note, token, symptom, dollar sign, dollar mark, type, figure, emblem, cipher, device, representation, epigraph, motto, posy, gesture, gesticulation, pantomime, wink, glance, leer, nod, shrug, beck, touch, nudge, dactylology, dactylonomy, freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show, cue, hint, clue, clew, key, scent, signal, signal post, rocket, blue light, watch fire, watch tower, telegraph, semaphore, flagstaff, cresset, fiery cross, calumet, heliograph, guidon, headlight, mark, scratch, line, stroke, dash, score, stripe, streak, tick, dot, point, notch, nick, print, imprint, impress, impression, keyboard symbols, printing symbols, red letter, italics, sublineation, underlining, bold font, jotting, note, annotation, reference, blaze, cedilla, guillemets, hachure, quotation marks, ", double quotes, " ", parentheses, "( )", brackets, "", braces, "", left arrow, "<", right arrow, ">", forward slash, "/", backward slash, "\", exclamation point, "!", commercial at, "@", pound sign, "#", percent sign, "%", carat, "", ampersand, "&", asterisk, "*", hyphen, "-", dash, "-", "_", em dash, "--", plus sign, "+", equals sign, "=", question mark, "?", period, ", ", semicolon, ", ", colon, ":", comma, ", ", apostrophe, "'", single quote, "'", tilde, "~", badge, criterion, countercheck, countermark, countersign, counterfoil, duplicate, tally, label, ticket, billet, letter, counter, check, chip, chop, dib, totem, tessera, card, bill, witness, voucher, stamp, cacher, trade mark, Hall mark, signature, mark, autograph, autography, attestation, hand, hand writing, sign manual, cipher, seal, sigil, signet, hand and seal, paraph, brand, superscription, indorsement, endorsement, password, watchword, catchword, security card, pass, passkey, credentials, open sesame, timbrology, mot de passe, mot du guet, pass-parole, shibboleth, title, heading, docket, address card, visiting card, carte de visite, insignia, banner, banneret, bannerol, bandrol, flag, colors, streamer, standard, eagle, labarum, oriflamb, oriflamme, figurehead, ensign, pennon, pennant, pendant, burgee, blue Peter, jack, ancient, gonfalon, union jack, banderole, old glory, quarantine flag, vexillum, yellow-flag, yellow jack, tricolor, stars and stripes, bunting, heraldry, crest, coat of arms, arms, armorial bearings, hatchment, escutcheon, scutcheon, shield, supporters, livery, uniform, cockade, epaulet, chevron, garland, love knot, favor, beacon, cairn, post, staff, flagstaff, hand, pointer, vane, cock, weathercock, guidepost, handpost, fingerpost, directing post, signpost, pillars of Hercules, pharos, bale-fire, beacon-fire, l'etoile du Nord, landmark, seamark, lighthouse, balize, polestar, loadstar, lodestar, cynosure, guide, address, direction, name, sign, signboard, warning, omen, prefigurement, trace, record, warning &c, alarm, scepter, trophy, gauge, milestone, milepost, brand, fool's cap, check, telltale, test, mileage ticket, milliary, notification, advertisement, word of command, call, bugle call, trumpet call, bell, alarum, cry, battle cry, rallying cry, angelus, reveille, sacring bell, sanctus bell, exposition &c (explanation), proof, pattern, indicating, indicative, indicatory, denotative, connotative, diacritical, representative, typical, symbolic, pantomimic, pathognomonic, symptomatic, characteristic, demonstrative, diagnostic, exponential, emblematic, armorial, individual, known by, recognizable by, indicated, pointed, marked, denotable, indelible, in token of, symbolically, in dumb show, ecce signum, ex ungue leonem, ex pede Herculem, vide ut supra, vultus ariete fortior.