This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
cockatrice
[ kok-uh-tris ]
/ ˈkɒk ə trɪs /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
a legendary monster with a deadly glance, supposedly hatched by a serpent from the egg of a cock, and commonly represented with the head, legs, and wings of a cock and the body and tail of a serpent.Compare basilisk (def. 1).
a venomous serpent. Isaiah 11:8.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of cockatrice
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cocatrice, from Middle French cocatris, from Medieval Latin caucātrīces (plural), Latin calcātrīx (unattested), feminine of calcātor (unattested) ”tracker,” equivalent to calcā(re) “to tread,” verbal derivative of calx “heel” + -tor agent suffix; the Latin was a direct translation of Greek word ichneúmōn, having the same meaning. See -trix, -tor, ichneumon
Words nearby cockatrice
cock-and-bull story, cockapoo, cock a snook, cockatiel, cockatoo, cockatrice, Cockayne, cockboat, cockchafer, Cockcroft, cockcrow
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cockatrice in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cockatrice
cockatrice
/ (ˈkɒkətrɪs, -ˌtraɪs) /
noun
a legendary monster, part snake and part cock, that could kill with a glance
another name for basilisk (def. 1)
Word Origin for cockatrice
C14: from Old French cocatris, from Medieval Latin cocatrix, from Late Latin calcātrix trampler, tracker (translating Greek ikhneumon ichneumon), from Latin calcāre to tread, from calx heel
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