Wiktionary

peacock

See also: Peacock

English

edit
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
 
A peacock.

Etymology

edit

From 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

Noun

edit

peacock (plural peacocks)

  1. 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.
  2. A peafowl (of the genus Pavo or Afropavo), either male or female.
  4. A pompous or vainglorious person [from the 14th c.].
    Synonym: turkeycock
  5. (entomology) Any of various Asian species of papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.

Synonyms

edit

Hyponyms

edit
  • peachick (“young peafowl”)
  • peacock (“male peafowl”)
  • peahen (“female peafowl”)

Derived terms

edit

Descendants

edit
  • → Hawaiian: pīkake
    • → English: pikake
  • → Maori: pīkake

Translations

edit

Verb

edit

peacock (third-person singular simple present peacocks, present participle peacocking, simple past and past participle peacocked)

  1. (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.”
  2. (intransitive) To engage in peacocking, ostentatious dress or behaviour to impress women.

Translations

edit

See also

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=peacock&oldid=80674500"