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.

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Idioms for 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

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

Words nearby cockle

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for cockles of one's heart (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 cockles of one's heart (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

Idioms and Phrases with cockles of one's heart

cockles of one's heart

see warm the cockles of one's heart.