| Part of Speech | Definition | |
| Noun Plural | 1. Plural inflection of the noun cockney.[Eve - graph theoretic] | |
| Noun Base (cockney) | 1. A native of the east end of London.[Wordnet]. 2. The nonstandard dialect of natives of the east end of London.[Wordnet]. 3. An effeminate person; a spoilt child.[Websters]. 4. A native or resident of the city of London; -- used contemptuously.[Websters]. | |
Sources: compiled from various sources, (under license) copyright 2008. | Top | |
Date "COCKNEYS" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1811. (references) |
Specialty Definition: cockney
| Domain | Definition | ||
| Noah Webster | [Noun] A native of London, by way of contempt.. Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary. | ||
| Literature | 1: "Cry to it, nuncle, as the cockney did to the cels, when she put them into the paste alive."- Shakespeare: Lear, ii. 4. 2: Camden says the Thames was once called "the Cockney." 3: Chambers in his Journal derives the word from a French poem of the thirteenth century, called The Land of Cocagne, where the houses were made of barley-sugar and cakes, the streets paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods without requiring money in payment. The French, at a very early period, called the English cocagne men, i.e. bons vivants (beef and pudding men). 4: Cockney One born within sound of Bow-bells, London; one possessing London peculiarities of speech, etc.; one wholly ignorant of country sports, country life, farm animals, plants, and so on. 5: The king of cockneys. A master of the revels chosen by students of Lincoln's Inn on Childermas Day (Dec. 28th). 6: The word has been spelt Cockeney, Cockaneys, Cocknell, etc. "Cocknell" would be a little cock. "Puer in deliciis matris nutritus, " Anglice, a kokenay, a pampered child. "Niais" means a nestling, as faucon niais, and if this is the last syllable of "Cockney," it confirms the idea that the word means an enfant gâté. 7: Wedgwood suggests cocker (to fondle), and says a cockerney or cockney is one pampered by city indulgence, in contradistinction to rustics hardened by outdoor work. (Dutch, kokkeler, to pamper; French, coqueliner, to dangle.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. | ||
| Slang in 1811 | COCKNEY: A nick name given to the citizens of London, or persons born within the sound of Bow bell, derived from the following story: A citizen of London, being in the country, and hearing a horse neigh, exclaimed, Lord! how that horse laughs! A by-stande. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. | ||
| Wiktionary | 1: [Adjective] From the East End of London. (references) | 2: [Adjective] of, or relating to these people or their accent. (references) | 3: [Noun] a native or inhabitant of parts of the East End of London. (references) | 4: [Noun] the accent and speech mannerisms of these people. (references) | 5: [Proper noun] A native of the East End of London. To be considered a true Cockney, one must be born within the sound of Bow Bells, St Mary-le-Bow church in the City of London. (references) | 6: [Proper noun] The dialect or accent of such natives. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
