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cony

or co·ney

[koh-nee, kuhn-ee]
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noun, plural co·nies.
  1. the fur of a rabbit, especially when dyed to simulate Hudson seal.
  2. the daman or other hyrax of the same genus.
  3. the pika.
  4. a rabbit.
  5. Obsolete. a person who is easily tricked; gull; dupe.
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Origin of cony

1150–1200; Middle English, back formation from conyes < Old French conis, plural of conil < Latin cunīculus rabbit, burrow, a word said to be of Iberian orig., according with evidence that the rabbit spread through Europe from NW Africa and the Iberian Peninsula
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

rodentharebunnybuckconycapondoecuniculuscottontailchinchillalapinconeylagomorph

Examples from the Web for cony

Historical Examples

  • In such heights man is of no more value than the wolf or the cony.

    Cavanagh: Forest Ranger

    Hamlin Garland

  • The American cony lives on top of the world—on the crest of the continent.

  • The cony is found over a belt that extends from this altitude down to 9,500.

  • About all the cony has to do is to find the den and take possession.

  • The cony is a relative of the rabbit, the squirrel, the beaver, and the prairie dog.

British Dictionary definitions for cony

cony

coney

noun plural -nies or -neys
  1. a rabbit or fur made from the skin of a rabbit
  2. (in the Bible) another name for the hyrax, esp the Syrian rock hyrax
  3. another name for pika
  4. archaic a fool or dupe
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Word Origin

C13: back formation from conies, from Old French conis, plural of conil, from Latin cunīculus rabbit
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

Word Origin and History for cony

n.

see coney.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper