Cockaigne

or Cock·ayne

[ ko-keyn ]

/ kɒˈkeɪn /

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See synonyms for Cockaigne on Thesaurus.com

noun

a fabled land of luxury and idleness.

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Origin of Cockaigne

1250–1300; Middle English cokaygn(e) <Middle French (paide) cocaigne (land of) Cockaigne, idler's paradise <Middle Low German kōkenje, equivalent to kōken (see cookie) + -je diminutive suffix

Words nearby Cockaigne

cock, cockabully, cockade, cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-hoop, Cockaigne, cock-a-leekie, cockalorum, cockamamie, cock-and-bull story, cockapoo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Cockaigne in a sentence

Never comes the trader thither, never o'er the purple main Sounds the oath of British commerce, or the accents of Cockaigne.
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
It is a superb land, a country of Cockaigne, as they say, that I dream of visiting with an old friend.
The Poems and Prose Poems of Charles Baudelaire|Charles Baudelaire
An old French poem on the Land of Cockaigne described it as an ideal land of luxury and ease.
Early Reviews of English Poets|John Louis Haney
There is a wonderful country, a country of Cockaigne, they say, which I dreamed of visiting with an old friend.
Baudelaire: His Prose and Poetry|Charles Baudelaire

It is, says Dixon, the common English broadsheet "turned into the dialect of Cockaigne."
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Volume I of 5)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Cockaigne

Cockaigne

Cockayne

/ (kɒˈkeɪn) /

noun

medieval legend an imaginary land of luxury and idleness

Word Origin for Cockaigne

C14: from Old French cocaigne, from Middle Low German kōkenje small cake (of which the houses in the imaginary land are built); related to Spanish cucaña, Italian cuccagna

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012