[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/cocking/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [C](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/c/) / cocking

# cocking

verb, present participle of cock

«cocking» in the English dictionary: Early Modern English — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Early Modern English

### Meaning

Lifting or holding something up, such as a tail, or turning one eye to look sideways at someone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cocking/#m1)

### Then and now

Today "cock" mostly means a male bird or the action of a gun. In these sentences it means lifting up a tail or turning the head, and the sentences use that old sense.

### Examples

- But do what they might, cats or poison, terrier or traps, there seemed to be more rats than ever, and every day a fresh rat was cocking his tail or pricking his whiskers. (More English Fairy Tales) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cocking/#x1)
- On his return he strutted up to his mother with the peculiar little hop and kick which was his way of walking, and cocking his one eye at her in a very bold way he said: (The Green Fairy Book) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cocking/#x2)

### Note

Today: lifting, raising, looking sideways.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «cocking» in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/C/cocking/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«cocking» in the Early Modern English dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/emode/w/cocking.html) on Mova free.