cock

v

Definition: aim
Antonyms: uncock

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A cock crowing at day break drives away ghosts and evil spirits, and even Satan, as in the legend of the Devil's Dyke. Henry Bourne noted in his Antiquitates Vulgares (1725), chapter 6, that:

It is a received tradition among the Vulgar. That at the Time of Cock-crowing, the Midnight Spirits forsake these lower Regions, and go to their proper Places…Hence it is, that in Country-Places, where the way of Life requires more early Labour, they always go cheerfully to work at that Time; whereas if they are called abroad sooner, they are apt to imagine everything they see or hear, to be a wandring Ghost.

Crowing at unusual times generally meant death or ill luck—except on Christmas Eve, when cocks crow joyfully all night (Shakespeare, Hamlet, I. i). But a cock crowing at the door only meant that vistors would shortly arrive. Cocks on church spires guarded the building and the graveyard, and would crow on Doomsday to wake the dead (Opie and Tatem, 1989: 90-1; Radford, Radford, and Hole, 1961: 108-9).

It was thought that cocks might occasionally lay eggs, a belief based on the fact that old hens sometimes develop male plumage and behaviour, yet still lay small, sterile eggs; this was regarded as ill-omened, and the egg would be broken, for fear it hatched into a cockatrice (Blakeborough, 1898: 149; Forbes, 1966: 1-22).

A ‘cockstride’ was a country term for a tiny distance; it was used of the increase of daylight in early January, as in John Ray's A Collection of English Proverbs (1678): ‘At twelf-day the days are lengthened a cock-stride.’ In some legends about laying ghosts the banished spirit is said to be creeping home at the rate of one cockstride per year.

See also COCK-FIGHTING.

1. See faucet.
2. A stopcock.

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Portrayals of the cock or rooster with Gaulish Mercury may indicate that it was a sacred animal among the Continental Celts. Large birds, perhaps cocks, are also found in temples from northern Britain, here with human female figures. Modern Irish coileach; Scottish Gaelic coileach; Manx kellagh ny giark; Welsh ceiliog; Cornish cülyek; Breton kilhog.

The cock has been connected with magic practice in various parts of the world throughout the ages. It is the herald of the dawn, and examples abound of assemblies of demons and sorcerers where its shrill cry, announcing daybreak, has put the infernal Sabbat to rout. It is said that to avert such a contingency, sorcerers used to smear the head and breast of the cock with olive oil or place around his neck a collar of vine-branches.

In many cases the future was divined through this bird. It was also believed that in its stomach was found a stone, called lappilus alectorius, from the Greek name of the bird, that gave strength and courage and is said to have inspired the gigantic might of Milo of Crotona in the sixth century B.C.E.

Originally a native of India, the cock arrived in Europe in early times via Persia, where it is alluded to in the Zoroastrian books as the beadle (messenger) of the sun and terror of demons. Among the Arabs, it was said that it crowed when it became aware of the presence of jinns. The Jews received their concept of the cock as a scarer of evil spirits from the Persians, as did the Armenians, who said that it greets the guardian angels with its clarion call, who descend to earth with the day, and that it gives the keynote to the angelic choirs of heaven to commence their daily round of song.

In India, too, and among the pagan Slavs, it was supposed to scare away demons from dwelling places and was the first living creature introduced into a newly built house. The Jews, however, believed that it was possible for the cock to become the victim of demons and that it should be killed if it upsets a dish.

The cock was used directly in magic practice. In Scotland, it was buried under the patient's bed in cases of epilepsy. The Germans believed that if a sorcerer threw a black cock into the air, thunder and lightning would follow, and among the Chams of Cambodia, a woman who wished to become a sorceress sacrificed a live cock on a termite's nest, cutting the bird in two from the head to the tail and placing it on an altar, in front of which she danced and sang in the nude until the two halves of the bird came together again and it came to life and crowed. The name of the cock was pronounced by the ancient Greeks as a cure for the diseases of animals, and it was said by the Romans that locked doors could be opened with its tail feathers. The bird was pictured on amulets in early times and also figured as the symbol of Abraxas, the principal deity of a Gnostic sect.

The cock was regarded as the guide of souls to the under-world, and in this respect was associated by the Greeks with Persephone and Hermes. The Slavs of pagan times sacrificed cocks to the dead and to the household serpents, in which they believed their ancestors to be reincarnated. Conversely, the cock was pictured as having an infernal connection, especially if its color was black. Indeed, it was employed in black magic, perhaps the earliest instance of this being in the Atharva Veda, an ancient Hindu scripture. A black cock was offered up to propitiate the Devil in Hungary, and a black hen was used for the same purpose in Germany. The Greek sirens, the Shedim of the Talmud, and the Izpuzteque, whom the dead Aztec encounters on the road to Mictlán, the Place of the Dead, all have cock's feet. Cocks are also sacrificed in the Voudou and Santeria ceremonies of the West Indian islands.

There is a widespread folk belief that once in seven years the cock lays a little egg. In Germany it is necessary to throw this over the roof, or tempests will wreck the homestead; but should the egg be hatched, it will produce a cockatrice or basilisk. In Lithuania the cock's egg should be put in a pot and placed in the oven. From this egg is hatched a kauks, a bird with a tail like that of a golden pheasant, which, if properly tended, will bring its owner great good luck. A chronicle of Basel in Switzerland mentions that in the month of August 1474 a cock in that town was accused and convicted of laying an egg and was condemned to death. He was publicly burned along with his egg, at a place called Kablenberg, in sight of a great multitude of people.

In Oldenburg, Germany, a black cock was used to divine witches. The heart, lungs, and liver were pierced with needles and placed in a sealed vessel over a fire, while everyone present kept strict silence. When the heart boiled or became ashes, the witch would be evident, since she would feel a burning pain in her body and beg to be released.

The cock was also regarded as having a connection with light and with the sun, probably because of the redness of his comb and the fiery sheen of his plumage, or perhaps because he heralds the day. It is the cock who daily wakens the heroes in the Scandinavian Asgard.

Male bird.

• c. fighting — contests, usually with wagering riding on them, between adult male birds of fighting stock; frowned on in most developed countries because the fights are to the death.

IN BRIEF: n. - Adult male bird; The part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled.

He was like the cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. — George Eliot, Source: Adam Bede, 1859

Cocks as symbols have several different interpretations. One is the consistent daily "alarm clock" that greets the day. Cocks can also signify thankless tasks, overachievement, and aggressive pursuits of power. This may be the wake-up call the dreamer has been needing.

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - hane, han, kammerat, [sl] pik, sludder, hane på gevær
v. tr. - bevæge opad, dreje opmærksomt, bøje tilbage, spænde hanen på
v. intr. - kludre i det

idioms:

• cock a snook at    række næse ad, føle foragt for
• cock crow    hanegal, morgengry
• cock up    forkludre, kludre i det
• cocked hat    trekantet hat

2.
n. - lille høstak
v. tr. - løfte, stakke hø

Nederlands (Dutch)
haan, mannetje(s-), makker, lul, kul, kraan, scheve stand, aanvoerder, weerhaan, oprichten, spitsen, overeind steken, de haan spannen, opper (soort hooiberg)

Français (French)
1.
n. - coq, (Zool) oiseau mâle, pénis, bitte, (GB) foutaises, âneries, (GB, dial) mon vieux, meulon (foin), girouette, chien de fusil, au cran de repos/armé (pistolet, fusil)
v. tr. - hausser, pencher (tête), mettre (qch) sur le côté, (Mil) armer (fusil)
v. intr. - (Mil) armer (un fusil), tourner, se dresser

idioms:

• cock a snook    faire un pied-de-nez à
• cock crow    chant du coq
• cock up    bousiller, faire foirer (qch)
• cocked hat    (battre qn) à plates coutures, chapeau à cornes

2.
n. - chien de fusil, au cran de repos/armé (pistolet, fusil)
v. tr. - (Mil) armer (fusil)

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Hahn, Männchen, (zool) Waldschnepfe, (Slang) Bursche, (vul.) Penis, (Slang) Blödsinn
v. - aufrichten, (Gewehrhahn) spannen

idioms:

• cock a snook    eine (lange) Nase drehen
• cock crow    Hahnenschrei
• cock up    (Slang) Mist bauen
• cocked hat    Dreispitz, Hut mit hoher Krempe

2.
n. - Schober, Haufen
v. - zu Schobern formen, in Haufen setzen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πετεινός, κόκορας, αρσενικό πουλί, αρσενικός αστακός, κάβουρας ή σολομός, κόκορας/λύκος/σφύρα όπλου, κάνουλα, κρουνός, θημωνιά, (καθομ.) πέος, (καθομ.) σαχλαμάρες
v. - ανασηκώνω, ορθώνω, (για όπλα) σηκώνω τον κόκορα, οπλίζω, γέρνω, τοποθετώ με κλίση, ανασηκώνω ή αναγυρίζω (γείσο καπέλου κ.λπ.)

idioms:

• cock a snook at    κάνω κοροϊδευτική χειρονομία με τα δάχτυλα και τη μύτη
• cock crow    λάλημα (πετεινού), (μτφ.) χαράματα, χαραυγή
• cock up    (καθομ.) τα κάνω σαλάτα/ρόιδο
• cocked hat    τρίκοχο καπέλο (κν. τρικαντό)

Italiano (Italian)
gallo, (amer. volg.) uccello, cazzo, covone

idioms:

• cock a snook at    far marameo a
• cock crow    alba
• cock up    rovinare
• cocked hat    tricorno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - galo (m), líder (m), válvula (f) (Téc.), levantamento (m), bobagem (f) (gír.), pênis (m) (vulg.)
v. - empinar, aprumar-se

idioms:

• cock a snook at    fazer "psiu" (gír.)
• cock crow    alvorada (f)
• cock up    estragar planos
• cocked hat    chapéu (m) de bicos

Русский (Russian)
петух, стог, кран, хуй

idioms:

• cock a snook at    показать длинный нос
• cock crow    рассвет
• cock up    все перепутать, устроить бардак, неразбериха
• cocked hat    шапка набекрень

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - gallo, parva
v. tr. - levantar, enderezar
v. intr. - gallear, darse tono

idioms:

• cock a snook    hacer burla con la mano, hacer trompetillas
• cock crow    canto del gallo, amanecer, alba
• cock up    hacer un lío de algo, fastidiar, joder
• cocked hat    sombrero de tres picos

2.
n. - gatillo
v. tr. - amartillar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tupp, hane (fågel), morkulla, överkucku, kran, hane på gevär, tunga på våg, snabb rörelse, skitsnack (sl.), kuk (vulg.)
v. - sätta/ställa/sticka rätt upp, spänna hanen på

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 公鸡, 扳起的扳机, 翘起, 竖起, 大摇大摆

idioms:

• cock a snook at    拇指顶鼻尖摇其余四指以示轻蔑
• cock crow    鸡鸣时刻, 黎明
• cock up    竖起, 搞糟
• cocked hat    三角帽

2. 龙头, 堆成锥形小干草堆

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 龍頭
v. tr. - 堆成錐形小乾草堆

2.
n. - 公雞
v. tr. - 扳起的扳機
v. intr. - 翹起, 豎起, 大搖大擺

idioms:

• cock a snook at    拇指頂鼻尖搖其餘四指以示輕蔑
• cock crow    雞鳴時刻, 黎明
• cock up    豎起, 搞糟
• cocked hat    三角帽

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 수탉, 두목, 바람개비, 마개
v. tr. - 공이치기를 당기다, 귀를 쫑긋 세우다
v. intr. - 두드러지다, 뻐기며 걷다

idioms:

• cock up    위로 치올리다, 엉망진창으로 만들다

2.
n. - 원뿔모양의 건초더미
v. tr. - 원뿔모양으로 쌓다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 雄鳥, 雄, 撃鉄, 栓, 干し草の山, 風見鶏
v. - 撃鉄を起こす, 上に向ける, 立てる, 打ち金を起こす

idioms:

• cock a snook at    軽蔑のしぐさをする
• cock crow    夜明けの鶏の声
• cock up    だいなしにする, だめにする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ديك, ذكر الطير, قضيب, حنفيه ما (فعل) رفع, أقام‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תרנגול, עוף זכר, ברז, פטיש, נוקר, נוקר דרוך, ביטחון מופרז, אבר המין הזכרי‬
v. tr. - ‮דרך רובה, זקף, הטה מעט‬
v. intr. - ‮הזדקף, דרך רובה‬
n. - ‮ערימת חציר‬
v. tr. - ‮ערם (ערימת חציר), ביטחון מופרז‬

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