cockle

[ kok-uhl ]

/ ˈkɒk əl /

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See synonyms for: cockle / cockled on Thesaurus.com

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.

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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

First 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

First 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

For doing so, I was likened in comments to Josef Mengele, a comparison that warmed the cockles of my gay, half-Jewish heart.
Predator Doctors Take Advantage of Patients With ‘Chronic Lyme’ Scam|Russell Saunders|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In other places at low water they seek for cockles, mussels, and periwinkles.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
It will warm the cockles of your heart; come over to my house and Ill mix you the best drink in New York.
The Fifth String |John Philip Sousa
On reaching Leigh the cockles are thrown out in great heaps by the side of the creek, where they are covered at each tide.
A Chapter of Adventures|G. A. Henty

It was a broad-beamed craft, of over twenty feet long, and would carry more than a ton of cockles if filled up.
A Chapter of Adventures|G. A. Henty
Flashes of wit glanced here and there, and how they came home and warmed the cockles of the heart.
Orley Farm|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for cockle (1 of 2)

cockle¹

/ (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 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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cockle

Idioms about cockle

Origin of cockle

Other definitions for cockle (2 of 2)

Origin of cockle

Words related to cockle

How to use cockle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cockle (1 of 2)

Word Origin for cockle

British Dictionary definitions for cockle (2 of 2)