cockchafer

[ kok-chey-fer ]

/ ˈkɒkˌtʃeɪ fər /

noun

any of certain scarab beetles, especially the European species, Melolontha melolontha, which is very destructive to forest trees.

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Origin of cockchafer

1685–95; cock¹ (with reference to its size) + chafer

Words nearby cockchafer

cockatoo, cockatrice, cockayne, cockayne's syndrome, cockboat, cockchafer, cockcroft, cockcrow, cocked, cocked hat, cocker

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for cockchafer

"Now's our last chance," said The Cat, wheeling like a cockchafer on a pin.
The Day's Work, Volume 1|Rudyard Kipling
Loman was returning from one of his now frequent visits to the Cockchafer.
The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's|Talbot Baines Reed
This is a very poor result, if compared with the strength of the cockchafer.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
The Signora spitted him, as a boy does a cockchafer on a cork, that she might enjoy the energetic agony of his gyrations.
Barchester Towers|Anthony Trollope

The beetle was formerly called a buzzard; and in Staffordshire, a cockchafer is termed a hum-buz.
Folk-lore of Shakespeare|Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer

British Dictionary definitions for cockchafer

cockchafer

/ (ˈkɒkˌtʃeɪfə) /

noun

any of various Old World scarabaeid beetles, esp Melolontha melolontha of Europe, whose larvae feed on crops and grassesAlso called: May beetle, May bug

Word Origin for cockchafer

C18: from cock 1 + chafer

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