cockroach
UK /ˈkɒkɹəʊt͡ʃ/ · US /ˈkɑkɹoʊt͡ʃ/ noun
Forms cockroaches
- noun Any black or brown straight-winged insect of the order Blattodea that is not a termite.
- noun (slang, derogatory) Term of abuse. “I want a divorce, you cockroach!”
- noun (slang, derogatory, offensive) A person or a member of a group of people regarded as undesirable and rapidly procreating. “During the Rwandan genocide, Hutu genocidaires labelled Tutsis as cockroaches and called for their extermination.”
- noun (Australia, slang, derogatory, humorous, especially used in rugby league) A person from New South Wales.
- noun (Australia, slang, obsolete) A hard lump of brown sugar.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Spanish cucaracha, from cuca (“butterfly caterpillars”), of onomatopoeic origin; see also Greek κόκκυξ (kókkux) and Late Latin cucus. Influenced, by means of folk etymology, by cock and roach. Doublet of cucaracha.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [Sp. cucaracha.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cockroach”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details