peacock

¹pea·cock

noun \ˈpē-ˌkäk\

Definition of PEACOCK

1

: a male peafowl distinguished by a crest of upright feathers and by greatly elongated loosely webbed upper tail coverts which are mostly tipped with iridescent spots and are erected and spread in a shimmering fan usually as a courtship display; broadly : peafowl

2

: one making a proud display of oneself : show-off

— pea·cock·ish \-ˌkä-kish\ adjective

— pea·cocky \-kē\ adjective

Origin of PEACOCK

Middle English pecok, from pe- (from Old English pēa peafowl, from Latin pavon-, pavo peacock) + cok cock

First Known Use: 14th century

Rhymes with PEACOCK

acock, ad hoc, air lock, alt-rock, amok, armlock, art-rock, backblock, ball cock, Balzac, bangkok, Bangkok, baroque, Bartók, bawcock, bedrock, bemock, bitstock, blackcock, blesbok, bloodstock, breechblock, burdock, buttstock, caprock, coldcock, crew sock, deadlock, defrock, dreadlock, dry dock, Dvořák, earlock, elflock, en bloc, epoch, fatstock, feedstock, fetlock, firelock, flintlock, forelock, foreshock, gamecock, gemsbok, gridlock, half cock, hard rock, havelock, haycock, headlock, headstock, heart block, hemlock, in stock, Iraq, jazz-rock, Kanak, Kazak, Kazakh, kapok, kneesock, Ladakh, Laubach, livestock, lovelock, matchlock, Mohock, Moloch, nostoc, o'clock, oarlock, padlock, penstock, petcock, pibroch, picklock, post hoc, punk rock, rhebok, rimrock, roadblock, rootstock, Rostock, rowlock, scalp lock, Schirach, seed stock, shamrock, Sheetrock, shell shock, sherlock, Ship Rock, shock jock, shot clock, shylock, Sirach, slickrock, Slovak, smock frock, snatch block, soft rock, springbok, steenbok, stopcock, sunblock, swage block, ticktock, time clock, time lock, traprock, unblock, uncock, undock, van Gogh, wall rock, warlock, wedlock, wheel lock, whipstock, woodblock, woodcock, wristlock, zwieback

²peacock

intransitive verb

Definition of PEACOCK

: show off

First Known Use of PEACOCK

1818

Pea·cock

biographical name \ˈpē-ˌkäk\

Definition of PEACOCK

Thomas Love 1785–1866 Eng. nov. & poet

peacock

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of three species (family Phasianidae) of resplendent birds of open lowland forests. Blue, or Indian (Pavo cristatus), and green, or Javanese (P. muticus), peacock males are 35–50 in. (90–130 cm) long and have a 60-in. (150-cm) train of metallic green tail feathers tipped with an iridescent eyespot ringed with blue and bronze. The train is erected, fanned out, and vibrated during courtship. Females (peahens) are duller and have no train. The male forms a harem of two to five hens, which lay their eggs in a depression in the ground. The blue and green male Congo peacock (Afropavo congensis) has a short rounded tail; the reddish and brown hen has a topknot.