cockscomb
noun
Also a form of coxcomb
Forms cockscombs cock's comb cock's-comb coxcomb
- noun The fleshy red crest of a rooster.
- noun A red cap once worn by court jesters.
- noun A yellow rattle, Rhinanthus minor (flowering plant native to Eurasia).
- noun An annual garden plant (Celosia argentea var. cristata, syn. Celosia cristata), having showy red clusters of flowers.
- noun (archaic) A conceited dandy.
- noun (nautical) A serrated cleat once fitted to the yards of a square-rigged ship and used when the sail was being reefed.
Synonyms
fop popinjay barbermonger beau blade blood buck carpet knight dandy dike dood dude dudelet exquisite fashionable fast man fine gentleman foretop fribble gallant common cockscomb Celosia cristata Celosia argentea cristata coxcomb comb
Etymology
From Middle English cokkes comb; equivalent to cock + -s- + comb.
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Coxcomb.
- noun A plant (Celosia cristata), of many varieties, cultivated for its broad, fantastic spikes of brilliant flowers; --sometimes called garden cockscomb. Also the Pedicularis, or lousewort, the Rhinanthus Crista-galli, and the Onobrychis Crista-galli.
Etymology [1st cock, n. + comb crest.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cockscomb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details