cockatoo

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

/ ˈkɒk əˌtu, ˌkɒk əˈtu /

noun, plural cock·a·toos.

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.

Australian.

a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
Slang. a lookout posted by criminals or the operators of illegal gambling games.

Nearby words

Origin of cockatoo

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 cock¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cockatoo

When one can play the violin and can't teach, any more than a cockatoo, what's the good of wasting one's time in teaching?'
Robert Elsmere|Mrs. Humphry Ward
The man on the land in Australia is represented by two classes, the squatter and the cockatoo farmer.
The Awful Australian|Valerie Desmond
The cockatoo was sent in the cage by coach, and a perch, made of foreign wood, followed by the carrier.
Tales from Many Sources|Various
"There is no need to be so angry, old lady," replied the cockatoo.
The Cockatoo's Story|Mrs. George Cupples

Cockatoo then returned by boat to the Gartley jetty and told his master.
The Green Mummy|Fergus Hume

British Dictionary definitions for cockatoo

cockatoo

/ (ˌkɒkəˈtuː, ˈkɒkəˌtuː) /

noun plural -toos

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

Australian and NZ a small farmer or settler

Australian informal a lookout during some illegal activity

Word Origin for cockatoo

C17: from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua

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

Word Origin and History for cockatoo

cockatoo

1610s, from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua, possibly echoic, or from kakak "elder brother or sister" + tua "old." Also cockatiel (1880), from Dutch diminutive kaketielje (1850), which is perhaps influenced by Portuguese. Spelling influenced by cock (n.1).