cockney

[kok-nee]

noun

plural

cockneys 

1. (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.

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

3. Obsolete.

   1. a pampered child.

   2. a squeamish, affected, or effeminate person.

adjective

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

cockney

/ ˈkɒknɪ /

noun

1. (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

2. the urban dialect of London or its East End

3. a young snapper fish

adjective

1. characteristic of cockneys or their dialect of English

Other Word Forms

• cockneyish adjective
• cockneyishly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockney¹

1325–75; Middle English cokeney foolish person, literally, cock's egg (i.e., malformed egg), equivalent to coken, genitive plural of cok cock ¹ + ey, Old English æg; cognate with German Ei, Old Norse egg egg ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cockney¹

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

Example Sentences

Having been turned down for National Service because of problems with his feet, he won a scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art - which got rid of his cockney accent.

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There are a fair number of Irish accents in the mix, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of the actors broke out his best cockney.

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There is “not false or imitation: real, actual,” as in an authentic cockney accent.

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"Multicultural London English is a relatively more recent accent, it is thought to have be around since the 80s, it has a lot in common with the cockney and South Eastern dialects," she said.

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What perhaps no-one could have seen coming, though, was that the traditional cockney accent might establish a stronghold outside London.

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