blackcock

American  

[blak-kok] / ˈblækˌkɒk /

noun

blackcocks plural

1. the male of the black grouse.

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blackcock British  

/ ˈblækˌkɒk /

noun

1. Also called: heath cock.  the male of the black grouse Compare greyhen

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blackcocks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blackcock

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at black, cock ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blackcock blackcocks

The game, which is abundant, consisting of blackcock and grouse, is strictly preserved.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 6 "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of" by Various

But most terribly was the Notary ruffled—just like a blackcock; when he had once begun, he poured forth his speech without a pause, and adorned it most effectively by his gestures.

From Pan Tadeusz Or, the Last Foray in Lithuania; a Story of Life Among Polish Gentlefolk in the Years 1811 and 1812 by Noyes, George Rapall

I had also prepared a speech for the blackcock, but, as I never caught sight of them again, I could not deliver it.

From Vagaries by Munthe, Axel

The grey dissolves into dawn, the dawn into light, and the first blackcock crows to his grey hen in the hollow.

From The Confessions of a Poacher by Anonymous

At last out sprang a fine old blackcock.

From Natural History in Anecdote Illustrating the nature, habits, manners and customs of animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, etc., etc., etc. by Various

"It is, indeed," she said, "a good morning's hunting to have got five blackcocks, but it was still better when in one morning a king of Norway took five kings and subdued all their kingdoms."

From Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic by Higginson, Thomas Wentworth

He was not at all certain that there were no more blackcocks in the county.

From Highways and Byways in Surrey by Thomson, Hugh

Sweet lass, will ye gang wi' me, Where blackcocks crow, and plovers cry?

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume III The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century by Rogers, Charles

In the woody cleughs yonder they are thick as blackcocks in August,” cried the Major impatiently.

From A Daughter of Raasay A Tale of the '45 by Travis, Stuart

One day they had been hawking, and when they let slip the falcons, Harald's falcon killed two blackcocks in one flight and three in another.

From Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic by Higginson, Thomas Wentworth