cockerel

[kok-er-uh l, kok-ruh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cockerel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a young domestic cock.

Nearby words

Origin of cockerel

First recorded in 1400–50, cockerel is from the late Middle English word cokerelle. See cock¹, -rel

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

Examples from the Web for cockerel

She won first prize on hen, first and second on pullet, and fourth on cockerel.
How To Write Special Feature Articles|Willard Grosvenor Bleyer
So Sir Dagonet always went armed; though he bore upon his shield the device of a cockerel's head as a symbol of his calling.
The Story of the Champions of the Round Table|Howard Pyle
This was his first sight of pirates, and he was as full of fight as a cockerel.
Strange Stories of the Great River|Abbie Johnston Grosvenor
He will find me too hot a cockerel, as he calls me, to venture upon our colors again.
Horse-Shoe Robinson|John Pendleton Kennedy

After that poultry fanciers call the young male a cockerel and the young female a pullet.
Our Domestic Birds|John H. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for cockerel

cockerel

noun

a young domestic cock, usually less than a year old

Word Origin for cockerel

C15: diminutive of cock 1

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 cockerel

cockerel

"young cock," mid-15c. (late 12c. as a surname), apparently a diminutive of cock (n.1). Despite the form, no evidence that it is from French.

cockerel

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of cockerel

Examples from the Web for cockerel

cockerel

noun

Word Origin for cockerel

cockerel