cockney

noun

cock·​ney ˈkäk-nē How to pronounce cockney (audio)
plural cockneys
1
obsolete
a
: a spoiled child
b
: a squeamish woman
2
often capitalized
a
: a native of London and especially of the East End of London
b
: the dialect of London or of the East End of London
cockney adjective
cockneyfy transitive verb
cockneyish adjective
cockneyism noun

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Is her accent cockney? Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2022 Forming a team where a college professor and chess champion can fight for the same goals as a cockney-speaking construction worker (who takes out enemies with a giant lug wrench) feels refreshingly cosmopolitan, especially as one character gets immediately called in to help when the other fails. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 28 Oct. 2020 But the film itself proved to be one of Allen’s darkest efforts, the tale of two cockney brothers, down on their luck, who agree to commit a murder with tragic results. Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Aug. 2022 The poem isn’t diminished by learning that Vivien wrote wonderful next to the nervy wife’s dialogue in the manuscript, or that the cockney monologue at the end of the same section was modeled after the speech of the Eliots’ housemaid, Ellen Kellond. Christopher Tayler, Harper’s Magazine , 17 Aug. 2022 Distributing tarts the traditional way, in a wicker basket carried by a theater student doing a heavy cockney accent, was deemed unsanitary by festival leadership. Caroleine James, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 July 2021 Oscar-winning adaptation of the Broadway hit about an English professor who teaches a cockney merchant to be a lady. Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cockney.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cokeney, literally, cocks' egg, from coken (genitive plural of cok cock) + ey egg, from Old English ǣg

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cockney was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near cockney

Cite this Entry

“Cockney.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cockney. Accessed 28 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

cockney

noun
cock·​ney ˈkäk-nē How to pronounce cockney (audio)
plural cockneys
often capitalized
1
: a native of London and especially of the East End of London
2
: the dialect spoken by the cockneys
cockney adjective
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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