WordofTheDay.US

cock

/kɒk/ noun

In Latin: gallus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cock at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Obscene terms for penis.
  2. Faucet consisting of a rotating device for regulating flow of a liquid.
  3. The part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled.

verb

  1. Tilt or slant to one side.
    cock one's head
  2. Set the trigger of a firearm back for firing.
  3. To walk with a lofty proud gait, often in an attempt to impress others.
    He struts around like a rooster in a hen house

Origin

From Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Middle Dutch cocke (“cock, male bird”) and Old Norse kokkr ("cock"; whence Danish kok (“cock”), dialectal Swedish kokk (“cock”)). Reinforced by Old French coc, from the same origin. The sense "penis" is attested since at least the 1610s, with the compound pillicock (“penis”) attested since 1325.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)