peacock

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See also: Peacock

English

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A peacock.

Etymology

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

Noun

peacock (plural peacocks)

  1. A male peafowl, especially Pavo cristatus, notable for its brilliant iridescently ocellated tail.
  2. A peafowl (of the genus Pavo or Afropavo), either male or female.
  3. A vainglorious person .
  4. (entomology) Any of various Asian species of papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

  • peachick (young peafowl)
  • peacock (male peafowl)
  • peahen (female peafowl)

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Hawaiian: pīkake
    • English: pikake
  • Maori: pīkake

Translations

Verb

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:
      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.

See also