peacock

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See also: Peacock

English

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Wikipedia
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.
    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 .
    Synonym: turkeycock
  5. (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.

Translations

See also

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia