Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A male peafowl, distinguished by its crested head, brilliant blue or green plumage, and long modified back feathers that are marked with iridescent eyelike spots and that can be spread in a fanlike form.
- n. A peafowl, either male or female.
- n. A vain person; a dandy.
- v. To strut about like a peacock; exhibit oneself vainly.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A bird of the genus Pavo, specifically the male, of which the female is a peahen and the young a pea-chick. See peafowl.
- To cause to strut or pose and make an exhibition of one's beauty, elegance, or other fine qualifications; hence, to render proud, vain, or haughty; make a display of.
- To strut about like a peacock, or in a manner indicating vanity: as, she peacocked up and down the terrace.
- n. [capitalized] In astronomy, the constellation Pavo.
- To pick the ‘eyes’ out of the land by selecting of buying up the choice pieces and waterfrontages so that the adjoining territory is practically useless to any one else.
Wiktionary
- n. A male or female pheasant of the two genera: Pavo or Afropavo, whose males have extravagant tails.
- n. A vainglorious person
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) The male of any pheasant of the genus Pavo, of which at least two species are known, native of Southern Asia and the East Indies.
- n. In common usage, the species in general or collectively; a peafowl.
WordNet 3.0
- n. European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot
- n. male peafowl; having a crested head and very large fanlike tail marked with iridescent eyes or spots
Etymologies
- From Middle English po ("peacock") + coc (see cock (n.)). Po is from Old English pāwa ("peafowl"), from Latin pavo (gen. pavonis), which, with Ancient Greek ταώς (taōs), said to be ultimately from Tamil தோகை (tōkai) (but perhaps is imitative; Latin represented the peacock's sound as paupulo). Used as the type of a vainglorious person from late 14c. Its flesh superstitiously believed to be incorruptible (even St. Augustine credits this). "When he sees his feet, he screams wildly, thinking that they are not in keeping with the rest of his body." (Wiktionary)
- Middle English pocock, pecok : po, peacock (from Old English pawa, pēa, peafowl, from Latin pāvō, peacock) + Middle English cok; see cock1. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I was specifically drawn to ink that came in peacock blue and a deep, chocolatey brown.”
“April 3rd, 2007 at 2: 26 am so beutiful peacock is my faviriout animal but i ll rather choose the beutiful green enrald peacock becus its me faviriout”
“Mrs Squeers, when excited, was accustomed to use strong language, and, moreover, to make use of a plurality of epithets, some of which were of a figurative kind, as the word peacock, and furthermore the allusion to”
“Says Brett Crawford, president of All Star, There's been a growing market in peacock bass fishing, and those anglers need travel rods that can sling heavy baits.”
“The eagles have long enough followed their owl in peacock's feathers," cried Buchan; "and being tired of the game, I, like the rest, soar upward again!”
“The peacock is an emblem of pride; when he struts, and shows his fine feathers, Solomon in all his glory is not arrayed like him.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“a fusewire blown in peacock spark, we've danced on quarks in danger's zone, and now embark for fields unknown to stride alone, without his ark.”
“a figurative kind, as the word peacock, and furthermore the allusion to Nicholas's nose, which was not intended to be taken in its literal sense, but rather to bear a latitude of construction according to the fancy of the hearers.”
“The person you can always count on to send you fascinating things to read at Christmas and your birthday, with the corners of the dust covers cut off so that you can’t see the price, and a warm message scrawled in peacock blue ink on the inside cover.”
“HILLARD: � People around here say the so-called peacock wars heat up every few years.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘peacock’.
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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End in -ock
Inspired by fbharjo (see spitchcock).
spitchcock, hillock, willock, peacock, pajock, penock, yapock, sycock, bittock, bawcock, burrock, cammock and 168 more...
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You animal!
Names of animals that are also used to describe kinds of people. Nouns only, preferably single word.
For a related list, see sionnach's beastly verbs.rabbit, shark, hog, pussycat, bear, bull, skunk, hawk, wildcat, buck, slug, heifer and 112 more...
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Words that sound dirty but aren't.
When you want to be pedantic AND childish.
titular, masticate, condiment, titmouse, penal, formication, social intercourse, assassination, cacophony, lucubrate, rectify, banal and 131 more...
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tHe Best Animals Ever
giraffe, elepant, cattle, water buffalo, langur monkey, baboon, lion, antelope, cheetah, tapeworm, kangaroo, bullfrog and 102 more...
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Shades of Black
Objects that are black, shades of lack, or something with blackness within.
lampblack, pitch, crow, obsidian, coal, charcoal, soot, midnight, raven, peacock, starless, bible and 22 more...
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Imagical: Words You Should Be Falling...
Come on, we need a counterbalance...
This has the potential to be the fluffiest list on Wordie.nebula, piglet squid, chinchilla, steering winds, the two towels, haboob, duckling, paradise, rainbow, steampunk, peacock, cthulhu and 11 more...
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animals (2 syllable)
A list of common animal names. Keep the list to 2 syllable words.No scientific names. No proper names like 'Fluffy' the elephant.Insects and other creatures (even ficticious like 'dragon') are we...
baboon, rabbit, raptor, dragon, camel, hornet, llama, cobra, cheetah, penguin, puppy, dolphin and 86 more...
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More Bird Wirds: North America
Birds endemic to the United States and/or North America.
toucan, peacock, weaver, bullfinch, redpoll, siskin, crossbill, finch, rosy-finch, oriole, cowbird, blackbird and 213 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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The Porn Birds
It's the winter of 2039. Global warming and rapacious development is taking a serious toll on habitat for birds all around the world. In desperation, they turn to new careers in the feather-flick...
goatsucker, french magpie, timberdoodle, butterbutt, popinjay, logcock, old cranky, long john, sprog, wedgie, bonxie, baldpate and 95 more...
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Buttery
Words that make me feel cozy
Feather, Mug, Knit, Socks, Snug, Soft, Butter, Nugget, Noodle, Curl, Billow, Lounge and 315 more...
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reginaterra's Words
purl, blow, squish, andean, generality, adaptation, lush, pack, filter, acquiesce, abstraction, sweet and 508 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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elvesoncrack's Words
lachrymose, blustering, fjord, chihuahua, chiffon, catalytic, stile, gefilte, prosh, thwart, ralph, ickle and 379 more...
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hedges's Words
wii, crepuscule, adumbrate, concatenation, sufi, qawwali, furry, riot, mellifluous, conspiracy, etymology, tea cozy and 369 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for peacock.
tbtabby Hollywood slang for NBC. Aug 26, 2009
vanishedone WeirdNet's definition isn't that bad today, but I'd have thought the bird was a more obvious choice for first place.
According to the O.E.D. this can also be a verb: 'to make conceited or vain; to puff up with vanity; to dress up in finery', or to act ostentatiously. Also 'trans. Austral. To obtain the best portions of (a tract of land), esp. so as to make the remainder of little value to other people. See PEACOCKING n. 2. Now hist.' Apr 7, 2009
kewpid All feathers, and no meat. Jun 12, 2008
chained_bear I like peahen even better. Apr 29, 2008
reesetee Wow, I hadn't heard about this. Thanks, npydyuan. I'm not surprised at the controversy, though. In recent years, book publishing seems to have become more litigious--and far more cutthroat--than it ever seemed to be in earlier eras. And then there's the concept of the public persona of the creation vs. the actual author. Once your written work gets into another's hands, I suppose, there's just no telling. Oct 17, 2007
npydyuan Interesting--I would love to see the original Raymond Carver stories. Interesting that this is even controversial. Oct 17, 2007