English Explanatory Dictionary

cockle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Any of various edible European bivalve mollusks, of the family Cardiidae, having heart-shaped shells.
  2. The shell of such a mollusk.
  3. A wrinkle, pucker
  4. A defect in sheepskin; firm dark nodules caused by the bites of keds on live sheep
  5. Chiefly in cockles of someone's heart: a person's innermost feelings.
  6. The dome of a heating furnace.
  7. The fire chamber of a furnace.
  8. A kiln for drying hops; an oast.
  9. The mineral black tourmaline or schorl.
verb
  1. To cause to contract into wrinkles or ridges, as some kinds of cloth after a wetting; to pucker.
noun
  1. Any of several field weeds, such as the common corncockle (Agrostemma githago) and darnel ryegrass (Lolium temulentum).
verb
  1. To wobble, shake; to be unsteady.
noun
  1. A £10 note; a tenner.

Pronunciation

/ˈkɒkl̩/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-cockle.wav /ˈkɑk(ə)l/

Word forms

cockle cockles cockling cockled

Etymology

From Middle English cokel, cokkel, kokkel, cocle, of uncertain origin. Perhaps a diminutive of Middle English cokke, cok (“cockle”), from Old English cocc (found in sǣcocc (“cockle”)) + -le; or perhaps from Old French coquille, from Vulgar Latin *cocchilia, from conchylia, from Ancient Greek κογχύλιον (konkhúlion), diminutive of κογχύλη (konkhúlē, “mussel”), of Pre-Greek substrate origin.

Synonyms

darnel false wheat

Related words

scallop aquatic cockle cocklebur corncockle cheat ryegrass tare vetch

Derived words

blood cockle cockle-bread cockleman cockler cockleshell cocklestove cockle wife cocklewoman cockly common cockle corn cockle corncockle earcockle ear cockle hot cockles moulding of cockle bread warm the cockles of someone's heart
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