cockatoo

[ kok-uh-too, kok-uh-too ]

noun

, plural cock·a·toos.

1. any of numerous large, noisy, crested parrots of the genera Cacatua, Callocephalon, Calyptorhynchus, etc., of the Australasian region, having chiefly white plumage tinged with yellow, pink, or red: popular as a pet.
2. Australian.
   1. a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
   2. Slang. a lookout posted by criminals or the operators of illegal gambling games.

cockatoo

/ ˌkɒkəˈtuː; ˈkɒkəˌtuː /

noun

1. any of various parrots of the genus Kakatoe and related genera, such as K. galerita ( sulphur-crested cockatoo ), of Australia and New Guinea. They have an erectile crest and most of them are light-coloured
2. a small farmer or settler
3. informal.
   a lookout during some illegal activity

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockatoo¹

1610–20; < Dutch kaketoe < Malay kakatua, perhaps etymologizing alteration of Central Moluccan jaka any psittacine bird, by association with Malay kakak sibling, kakak tua older sibling); spelling copies cock ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockatoo¹

C17: from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua

Example Sentences

With the right method, the cockatoos might fly by and keep hunting for a different target.

From Science News

Wickham says this is “fabulous news for this large, quiet and beautiful cockatoo,” which just 20 years before had numbered only 110 individuals.

From Washington Post

The doves were cooing and fluttering in the cornices and the cockatoo was preening his lemon colored topknot.

From Project Gutenberg

And we had pets; I remember I once caught a live cockatoo, and trained him to help me in my hunting expeditions.

From Project Gutenberg

Sentinel Cockatoo, however, was caught napping, and the garrison of the bower had to run for it.

From Project Gutenberg

This is about the size of the great white cockatoo; the length twenty-two inches.

From Project Gutenberg

I wish she had not thrust herself in,” said Bessie, “to prevent me from getting on with the child over the cockatoo.

From Project Gutenberg