cò

Possibly from Latin casa (“house”).

• IPA^(key):

cò

1. at

   en cò sieu ― at (his/her) home

2. in

   en cò nòstre ― in individual/local trials

3. among

   a cò de las graminèas ― among the grasses

• (standard) ca

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔ/

cò f (plural coie)

1. (dialectal, southern Piedmont) house

From Old Irish cía, from Proto-Celtic *kʷei (compare Welsh pwy), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís.

• IPA^(key): /kʰoː/, (unstressed) /ko/, /kɔ/

cò

1. who

   Cò e? ― Who is he?

   Cò i? ― Who is she?

   Cò e seo? ― Who is this?

2. In conjunction with the preposition à: where ... from

   Cò às a tha thu? ― Where are you from?

   Cò am bad às a bheil thu? ― Which part are you from?

   Cò às a thug thu an t-iomradh? ― Where have you rowed from?

3. In conjunction with the prepositions ri or de: what

   Cò ris a tha e coltach? ― What is it like?

   Cò dheth a tha e air a dhèanamh? ― What is it made of?

4. In conjunction with the prepositions le: with what

   Cò leis a tha thu a' toirt na clòimhe dhan a' chaoraich?

   With what do you take the wool off the sheep?

• If followed by the future tense, the relative future tense is used.

  Cò a ruitheas as luaithe? ― Who will run the fastest?

• ge be cò

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key):
• (Huế) IPA^(key):
• (Saigon) IPA^(key):

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

For the "penis" sense, compare English cock, Chinese 鳥 / 鸟 (điểu, “bird”) and 屌 (điểu, “penis”), Thai นกเขา (nók-kǎo, “pigeon, dove”). See also cu (“pigeon”), chim (“bird”).

For the "trigger" sense, compare Malay pelatuk (“woodpecker, trigger”), English cock (“hammer of firearm”).

(classifier con) cò • (𫛈, 𪂲, 鷺, 𪂮, 孤)

1. stork (large wading bird of the family Ciconiidae)
   • “Cò Lả ”‎performed by Thu Huyền, published 2017, Red River Delta's folk-song:

     Con cò, cò bay lả, lả bay la; bay từ là từ cửa phủ, bay ra là ra cánh đồng.

     The stork flies gracefully from the palace's gate out into the field.

2. egret
3. (colloquial, slightly childish) penis, pee-pee

(classifier cái) cò

1. trigger (finger-operated lever used to fire a gun)

   bóp cò ― to pull the trigger

From either French commissionnaire (“one entrusted with a commission”) or commission (“commission”) (still preserved in tiền cò (“commission money”)). If the latter, then it has semantically evolved from "commission" to "one entrusted with a commission" to "broker, mediator" and is a doublet of còm in tiền còm, from the same French word.

cò • (𫛈, 𪂲, 鷺, 𪂮, 孤)

1. (informal, chiefly derogatory) a broker (mediator between a buyer and seller), especially a deceptive one, or the money paid for such broker

• cò mồi
• tiền cò

Abbreviated from cò my xe, from French commissaire.

Doublet of cẩm (“‘chief of police’ > ‘police officer’ > ‘police’”), from the same French word.

cò

1. (obsolete) chief of police, head of police, superintendent
   • Tú Xương, "Ông Cò (Mister Superintendent / Monsieur le Commissaire)", Thơ Trần Tế Xương; published in 1998 by NXB Văn hoá - Thông tin (Culture & Information Publisher)

     Hà Nam danh giá nhất ông cò; Trông thấy ai ai chẳng dám ho.

     Hà Nam's most honoured person, Monsieur le Commissaire; Upon seeing him, cough none dares.

2. (obsolete, by extension) police officer
   • 1932, Phan Khôi, “Một vụ án phân xử rất công bình (A Very Fair Trial)”, Trung Lập 6645

     Như một vụ kiện vịt mới rồi trong cò bót Chợ Lớn, mà ông cò xử giỏi quá, chúng tôi chưa biết ông cò ấy là ông nào, nhưng hãy để lời khen ngợi ở đây và luôn tiện thuật đầu đuôi cho độc giả nghe.

     For instance, a police officer - we still don't know which one - in Chợ Lớn police station has tried a recent duck-related case so competently that we praise him here and also tell you our readers the whole story.

• cò bót