cockle

[ kok-uh l ]

/ ˈkɒk əl /

noun

any bivalve mollusk of the genus Cardium, having somewhat heart-shaped, radially ribbed valves, especially C. edule, the common edible species of Europe.

any of various allied or similar mollusks.

cockleshell(defs 1, 2).

a wrinkle; pucker: a cockle in fabric.

a small, crisp candy of sugar and flour, bearing a motto.

verb (used without object), cock·led, cock·ling.

to contract into wrinkles; pucker: This paper cockles easily.

to rise in short, irregular waves; ripple: The waves cockled along the shore.

verb (used with object), cock·led, cock·ling.

to cause to wrinkle, pucker, or ripple: The wind cockled the water.

Nearby words

cockfight chair, cockhorse, cockieleekie, cockiness, cockish, cockle, cockleboat, cocklebur, cockleert, cockler, cockles of one's heart

Idioms

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

1350–1400; Middle English cokille < Middle French coqille < Vulgar Latin *cocchīlia, Latin conchylia, plural of conchȳlium < Greek konchȳ́lion, equivalent to konchȳ́l(ē) mussel + -ion diminutive suffix; compare Old English -cocc, in sǣ-cocc literally, sea-cockle < Vulgar Latin *coccus for Latin concha conch

Definition for cockles (2 of 2)

cockle

[ kok-uh l ]

/ ˈkɒk əl /

noun

a weed, as the darnel Lolium temulentum, or rye grass, L. perenne.

Origin of cockle

before 1000; Middle English; Old English coccel

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

Examples from the Web for cockles

Cockles' hands dropped momentarily, and Keeks, whipping in a smashing right uppercut, had his man down and out.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 146, March 11, 1914|Various
The purl warms the cockles of Tom's heart, and makes him cough.
Tom Brown's School Days|Thomas Hughes
It has a smooth shell, not ragged as our cockles; 'tis good meat though somewhat tough.
The Bounty of the Chesapeake|James Wharton
I've got something on hand that'll warm the cockles of your heart.
A Pirate of Parts|Richard Neville

And Diocles says that the strongest of all shell-fish are cockles, purple-fish, and ceryces.
The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athenus|Athenus

British Dictionary definitions for cockles (1 of 2)

cockle

/ (ˈkɒkəl) /

noun

any sand-burrowing bivalve mollusc of the family Cardiidae, esp Cardium edule (edible cockle) of Europe, typically having a rounded shell with radiating ribs

any of certain similar or related molluscs

short for cockleshell (def. 1)

a wrinkle or puckering, as in cloth or paper

a small furnace or stove

cockles of one's heart one's deepest feelings (esp in the phrase warm the cockles of one's heart)

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 cockles (2 of 2)

cockle

/ (ˈkɒkəl) /

noun

any of several plants, esp the corn cockle, that grow as weeds in cornfields

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