Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cockscomb

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.44 in modern English

Syllables: cockscomb
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The fleshy red crest of a rooster.

noun

A red cap once worn by court jesters.

noun

A yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor (flowering plant native to Eurasia).

noun

An annual garden plant (Celosia argentea var. cristata, syn. Celosia cristata), having showy red clusters of flowers.

noun

A conceited dandy.

Archaic

noun

A serrated cleat once fitted to the yards of a square-rigged ship and used when the sail was being reefed.

Example Sentences

"She saw a square picture framed in the window, two whitewashed cottages each with a little winding path, a bed of red and yellow cockscomb, a sloping field, a row of gum-trees, a child in a blue sunbonnet carrying a basket."

Etymology

From Middle English cokkes comb; equivalent to cock + -s- + comb.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Prefix: cock
Root: cokkes comb
Suffix: -s-

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

cockscombs (plural) cock's comb (alternative) cock's-comb (alternative) coxcomb (alternative)

Derived Forms

cockscombed

Phrases

common cockscomb garden cockscomb plumed cockscomb silver cockscomb yellow cockscomb

Synonyms

fop popinjay barbermonger beau blade blood buck carpet knight cockscomb dandy dike dood

Questions

What does cockscomb mean?: The fleshy red crest of a rooster.
Where does cockscomb come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce cockscomb

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cockscomb”.
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