storm-cock
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of storm-cock
C18: so called because it was believed to give forewarning of bad weather
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Welsh call him master of the coppice, and he welcomes a storm with such a vigorous and hearty song that in some countries he is known as storm-cock.
From Locusts and Wild Honey by John Burroughs
The air was fresh and keen, squirrels jumped about in the trees, and the storm-cock sang blithely.
From Fifty-Two Stories For Girls by Alfred H. (Alfred Henry) Miles
Is called Hampshire and Sussex the storm-cock, because its song is supposed to forebode windy wet weather: it is the largest singing bird we have. p.
From The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 by Henry Morley
He straddles his legs, hunches his knife behind him, and whistles like a storm-cock through a sleet-shower.
From Rewards and Fairies by Rudyard Kipling
I wonder if any brave bird pipes to you as my storm-cock to me?
From The History of Sir Richard Calmady A Romance by Lucas Malet
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
