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.
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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
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)
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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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