Etymologically
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cocky

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkɒki/[1]
  • US: /ˈkɑki/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cock + -y, from cock in the sense of the male bird.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The OED compares the earlier adjective coxy for the sense "arrogant".[2] The noun used as a term of endearment is formed separately, from the same noun with the diminutive suffix -y.[2][7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a man, having a strong sex drive or great sexual prowess: 1549, in W. Thomas's Historie of Italie, the only record of this sense.[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

The early sense "lecherous" died out in the 16th century, and the modern adjective, conceited and brashly overconfident, appears in 1768 in A. Ross's Fortunate Shepherdess,[2][3][6] a meaning that the cock's strutting manner suggests.[5][7] The noun cocky was a term of endearment for a person of either sex from 1680,[2] and Green records it as a familiar address to a man from 1682, in Aphra Behn;[9] in later use it was mainly a friendly address to a man.[2] In 19th-century dialect of Scotland, Berkshire, London and Kent it meant a brisk, smart young fellow, or a conceited one.[10] By 1953 an arrogant person or show-off could be called a cocky.[9]

Timeline

  • 1549 – of a man, lecherous, virile (obsolete).[2][7]
  • 1680 – noun, a term of endearment.[2]
  • 1768 – conceited, arrogant, overconfident.[2][3][6]
  • 1953 – noun, an arrogant person.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Too sure of oneself in a bold or cheeky way; conceited or arrogant: The young striker was cocky after his first goal.[6][2][7]
  2. Jaunty.[6]

Noun

  1. (archaic) A little cock, used as a term of endearment or a familiar way of addressing a man.[6][7][2]

Word family

  • cockily
  • cockiness

Usage notes

In Australia and New Zealand cocky is also a noun of separate origin, shortened from cockatoo: a pet name for a cockatoo from 1830, and a small-scale farmer from 1868, with the verb "to work as a small farmer" from 1899.[2][6][11][9] A cocky for a cockroach, another shortening, is recorded from 1931.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins