shuttlecock
UK /ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɒk/ · US /ˈʃʌtl̩ˌkɑk/ noun, verb
Forms shuttlecocks shuttlecocking shuttlecocked shittlecock
- noun (countable) A lightweight object that is conical in shape with a cork or rubber-covered nose, used in badminton the way a ball is used in other racquet games. [from early 16th c.]
- noun (uncountable, dated) The game of badminton.
- verb To move rapidly back and forth.
- verb To send or toss back and forth; to bandy. “to shuttlecock words”
Synonyms
Etymology
From shuttle (from the back-and-forth sense of the word originating with loom weaving) + cock (from resemblance to a male bird's plume of tail feathers).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “shuttlecock”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details