peacock
See also: Peacock
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English pecok, pekok, pocok, pacok, equivalent to pea (“peafowl; peacock”) + cock. Compare Old Norse páfugl (“peacock”, literally “pea-fowl”), and English peahen, peachick, etc.
Pronunciation
edit- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpikɑk/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpiːkɒk/
Audio (US): (file)
Noun
editpeacock (plural peacocks)
- A male peafowl, especially Pavo cristatus, notable for its brilliant iridescently ocellated tail.
- Coordinate term: turkeycock
- 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page v:
- The ſpring diſplaying her elegant taſte, the proud walk of the gold-feathered pheaſant, the light tread of the ſmall-hoofed hind, and the dancing of the ſtar-trained peacock, infuſed joy into the ſoul of the ſpectator of the aſtoniſhing works of the Creator.
- A peafowl (of the genus Pavo or Afropavo), either male or female.
- A pompous or vainglorious person [from the 14th c.].
- Synonym: turkeycock
- (entomology) Any of various Asian species of papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.
Synonyms
edit- peafowl (ornithology)
Hyponyms
editDerived terms
edit- European peacock
- giant peacock moth
- Indian peacock
- Peacock Alley
- peacock bass
- peacock blue
- peacock butterfly
- peacock chair
- peacock copper
- peacockery
- peacock fish
- peacock flounder
- peacock flower
- peacocking
- peacockish
- peacock jumping spider
- peacock mantis shrimp
- peacock mite
- peacock moth
- peacock ore
- peacock parachute spider
- peacock-pheasant
- peacock pheasant
- peacock spider
- peacock worm
- proud as a peacock
Descendants
editTranslations
editpheasant of one of the genera Pavo and Afropavo
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Verb
editpeacock (third-person singular simple present peacocks, present participle peacocking, simple past and past participle peacocked)
- (intransitive) To strut about proudly or haughtily.
- 2014 May 30, Will Butler, “The Mark of Cane”, in The New York Times Magazine[1]:
- A routine border-check in upstate New York had turned into a back-room interrogation, and I was worried, because the three friends I was traveling with didn’t respond to authority well. I could almost hear the wry grins cracking their faces as the officers peacocked. “Is U.S. Customs a joke to you?” one officer asked. My friend Alex said, “No law against smiling, sir.”
- (intransitive) To engage in peacocking, ostentatious dress or behaviour to impress women.
Translations
editto strut about proudly or haughtily
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to engage in peacocking
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See also
editCategories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English compound terms
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- en:Entomology
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English endocentric compounds
- en:Fowls
- en:Male animals
- en:Swallowtails