cockney

[ kok-nee ]

/ ˈkɒk ni /

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noun, plural cock·neys.

(sometimes initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the East End district of London, England, traditionally, one born and reared within the sound of Bow bells.

(sometimes initial capital letter) the pronunciation or dialect of cockneys.

Obsolete.

a pampered child.
a squeamish, affected, or effeminate person.

adjective

(sometimes initial capital letter) of or relating to cockneys or their dialect.

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Origin of cockney

1325–75; Middle English cokeney foolish person, literally, cock's egg (i.e., malformed egg), equivalent to coken, genitive plural of cokcock¹ + ey,Old English æg; cognate with German Ei,Old Norse eggegg¹

OTHER WORDS FROM cockney

cock·ney·ish, adjectivecock·ney·ish·ly, adverb

Words nearby cockney

cockleert, cockler, cockleshell, cockles of one's heart, cockloft, cockney, cockney bream, cockneyfy, cockneyism, cock-of-the-rock, cock of the walk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cockney in a sentence

“Yes, I do,” he says with a Cockney accent so thick Judge Whitehead asks him to deliver his testimony while facing him.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But on the big screen, this bullish Brit transformed into the quintessential Cockney accented tough guy with a big heart.
Remembering Bob Hoskins, the Burly British Star of ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit,’ Who Died at 71|Lorenza Muñoz|April 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They have been in situ all week, with tents, Union Jacks, and lashings of cockney wisdom.
Superfans Take Over Westminster Abbey|Tom Sykes|April 29, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Characters in the soap Eastenders, which charts the lives of cockney Londoners, call their children Chelsea.
Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry's Hard-Partying Royal Wedding Date|Tom Sykes|April 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST

His candid cockney-accented vocal stylings still reverberate through the Brit pop of today.
Dead Cool: Ian Dury|Simon Doonan|April 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
"Come in," said a Cockney voice shrill with youth, in answer to her tap; and the child obeyed.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
Here the Scot entered into explanations which threw the Cockney's brain into a complete muddle.
Friend Mac Donald|Max O'Rell
The dank vapours of Covent Garden are sweet in the nostrils of many a cockney reveller.
A Cursory History of Swearing|Julian Sharman
The little cockney children circle around me to get a view from all sides.
My Wonderful Visit|Charlie Chaplin
If he be a Cockney soldier he will repeat the word: "'Orspital, mate—lor' luv ye, wish I wuz back!"
Private Peat|Harold R. Peat

British Dictionary definitions for cockney

cockney

/ (ˈkɒknɪ) /

noun

(often capital) a native of London, esp of the working class born in the East End, speaking a characteristic dialect of English. Traditionally defined as someone born within the sound of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church

the urban dialect of London or its East End

Australian a young snapper fish

adjective

characteristic of cockneys or their dialect of English

Derived forms of cockney

cockneyish, adjective

Word Origin for cockney

C14: from cokeney, literally: cock's egg, later applied contemptuously to townsmen, from cokene, genitive plural of cok cock 1 + ey egg 1

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