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cockle
1[ kok-uhl ]
/ ˈkɒk əl /
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noun
verb (used without object), cock·led, cock·ling.
verb (used with object), cock·led, cock·ling.
to cause to wrinkle, pucker, or ripple: The wind cockled the water.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Idioms about cockle
cockles of one's heart, the depths of one's emotions or feelings: The happy family scene warmed the cockles of his heart.
Origin of cockle
1First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English cokel, cokil(le), from Old French coquille, “shell, shell of a mollusk, mollusk,” from Vulgar Latin cocchīlia (unattested), from Latin conchylia, plural of conchȳlium, from Greek konchȳ́lion, equivalent to konchȳ́l(ē) “mussel, cockle” + -ion diminutive suffix; compare Old English -cocc in sǣ-cocc literally, “sea-cockle” from Vulgar Latin coccus (unattested) for Latin concha conch
Words nearby cockle
cockfight chair, cockhorse, cockieleekie, cockiness, cockish, cockle, cockleboat, cocklebur, cockleert, cockler, cockleshell
Other definitions for cockle (2 of 2)
cockle2
[ kok-uhl ]
/ ˈkɒk əl /
noun
a weed, as the darnel Lolium temulentum, or rye grass, L. perenne.
Origin of cockle
2First recordedbefore 1000; Middle English cok(k)el, Old English coccel; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Late Latin cocculus (unattested), diminutive of coccus “berry, seed” (see coccus)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cockle in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cockle (1 of 2)
cockle1
/ (ˈkɒkəl) /
noun
verb
to contract or cause to contract into wrinkles
Word Origin for cockle
C14: from Old French coquille shell, from Latin conchӯlium shellfish, from Greek konkhulion, diminutive of konkhule mussel; see conch
British Dictionary definitions for cockle (2 of 2)
cockle2
/ (ˈkɒkəl) /
noun
any of several plants, esp the corn cockle, that grow as weeds in cornfields
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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