peacock
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: compound
Topics: biology
entomology
natural-sciences
Etymology: Etymology tree
Pre-Greekbor.
Ancient Greek ταώς (taṓs)bor.?
Latin pāvōbor.
Proto-Germanic *pāwô
Proto-West Germanic *pāwō
Old English pāwa
Middle English pe
Proto-Germanic *kukkaz
Proto-West Germanic *kokk
Old English cocc
Middle English cok
Middle English pecok
English peacock
From Middle English pecok, pekok, pocok, pacok, first component from Old English pēa, pāwa (“peacock, peafowl”), ultimately from Latin pāvō; equivalent to pea + cock. Compare Old Norse páfugl (“peacock”, literally “peafowl”), and English peahen, peachick, etc.
Compound parts: pea
cock
Inflected forms:
form: peacocks
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: peacocks
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: peacocking
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: peacocked
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: peacocked
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A male peafowl, especially Pavo cristatus, notable for its brilliant iridescently ocellated tail.
pos: noun
tags: countable
usually
examples: 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.
gloss: A peafowl (of the genus Pavo or Afropavo), either male or female.
pos: noun
tags: countable
usually
gloss: The meat of this bird.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
usually
examples: When a reader recently inquired if people really eat peacock, I stated that I’d never tasted the bird, roasted or otherwise, and as far as I knew, it is rarely cooked anywhere in the world.
Nor do many people today long to eat peacock, which was both a privilege and an ordeal reserved for royalty.
Nero, infamous emperor of Rome, built a rotating dining room in which guests could eat peacock while flower petals fluttered down from special panels in the ivory ceiling.
gloss: A pompous or vainglorious person [from the 14th c.].
pos: noun
tags: countable
usually
gloss: Any of various Asian species of papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.
pos: noun
tags: countable
usually
examples: The large and handsome spectre-butterfly, Hestia durvillei; the pale-winged peacock butterfly, Drusilla catops; and the most brilliant and wonderful of the clear-winged moths, Cocytia durvillei, were especially interesting, as well, as several little "blues," equalling in brilliancy and beauty anything the butterfly world can produce.
gloss: To strut about proudly or haughtily.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: 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.”
gloss: To engage in peacocking, ostentatious dress or behaviour to impress women.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
Synonyms: peafowl
Related words: pajock
Derived words: East Atlantic peacock wrasse
European peacock
giant peacock moth
Indian peacock
Java peacock
Lower Peacock
meacock
Peacock Alley
peacock bass
peacock blue
peacock butterfly
peacock chair
peacock copper
Peacock Creek
peacockery
peacock fish
peacock flounder
peacock flower
peacock fly
peacocking
peacockish
peacockism
peacock jumping spider
peacocklike
peacock mantis shrimp
peacock mite
peacock moth
peacock ore
peacock pansy
peacock parachute spider
peacock pheasant
peacock-pheasant
peacock spider
peacockwise
peacock worm
peacocky
proud as a peacock
Translations: