Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A conceited dandy; a fop.
- noun Obsolete A jester's cap; a cockscomb.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The comb of a cock. See
cockscomb , 1. - noun The comb, resembling that of a cock, which licensed fools formerly wore in their caps; hence, the fool's cap itself.
- noun The top of the head, or the head itself.
- noun A fop; a vain, showy fellow; a conceited and pretentious dunce.
- noun A kind of silver lace frayed out at the edges.
- noun Same as
cockscomb , 2.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A strip of red cloth notched like the comb of a cock, which licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps.
- noun The cap itself.
- noun The top of the head, or the head itself.
- noun A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a fop.
- noun (Bot.) A name given to several plants of different genera, but particularly to
Celosia cristata , or garden cockscomb. Same asCockscomb .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete The cap of a court
jester ,adorned with a red stripe. - noun A
foolish orconceited person; adandy . - noun The
fleshy redpate of arooster .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the fleshy red crest on the head of the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds
- noun a cap worn by court jesters; adorned with a strip of red
- noun a conceited dandy who is overly impressed by his own accomplishments
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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_celebrated gentleman_ made on a very eminent physician: 'He is a coxcomb, but a _satisfactory coxcomb_.'
Life of Johnson, Volume 3 1776-1780 James Boswell 1767
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He is also of an ancient family; but, in his person and manners, more of what I call the coxcomb than any of his companions.
Clarissa Harlowe 2006
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The libel suit brought against him by Whistler, whom he described as a coxcomb who flung a pot of paint in the face of the public, is still talked about in
Outlines of English and American Literature : an Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived William Joseph Long 1909
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No, no, no! Never was there so bright a turn in my fate as when this titled coxcomb, with his smooth voice and gaudy fripperies, came hither!
Paul Clifford — Complete Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838
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No, no, no! Never was there so bright a turn in my fate as when this titled coxcomb, with his smooth voice and gaudy fripperies, came hither!
Paul Clifford — Volume 06 Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838
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God’s sake, gentlemen;” when the governor rose from table in great dudgeon, and left the room, muttering some ejaculation, of which the word coxcomb only could be distinctly heard.
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But the moral reflections upon tea-tables, the description of Amiana's, where only wit and good humor prevail, and the satirical portraits of a titled coxcomb and a bevy of fine ladies, are all in the manner of the “Tatler.”
The Life and Romances of Mrs Eliza Haywood Whicher, George Frisbie 1915
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It was a family triumvirate, formed of an old Bachelor, whose cent per cent ideas predominated over every other, wheresoever situated or howsoever employed; his maiden Sister, prim, starch and antiquated; and their hopeful Nephew, a complete coxcomb, that is, in full possession of the requisite concomitants -- ignorance and impudence, and arrayed in the first style of the most exquisite dandyism.
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And a coxcomb is a jester's hat, for those of us who aren't versed in obsolete English.
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And a coxcomb is a jester's hat, for those of us who aren't versed in obsolete English.
yarb commented on the word coxcomb
'"He's a cursed white-blooded pedantic coxcomb," said Will, with gnashing impetuosity.'
- George Eliot, Middlemarch
February 19, 2008
jinglebelljosie commented on the word coxcomb
also may be spelled "cockscomb"
September 18, 2008
yarb commented on the word coxcomb
As to the bill, I had nothing to do with it but to pay it. Down went a pistole upon the table, and the waiters pocketed the difference, which was somewhat more than a quarter. After this display of grandeur I strutted out, practising those obstreperous clearings of the throat which announce, by empty sound, the approach of a substantial coxcomb.
- Lesage, The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, tr. Smollett, bk 8 ch. 3
I love Smollett's use of substantial.
October 3, 2008