cocky
cocky Lexical Profile
cocky Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Conceited, overconfident, or brashly arrogant in a bold or cheeky way.
"The young tennis player was a bit too cocky after winning his first tournament, underestimating his next opponent."
• noun
Australian A cockatoo, a crested parrot of the family Cacatuidae native to Australia and neighboring islands (used informally).
"A noisy flock of sulfur-crested cockies settled in the gum trees behind the farmhouse."
Australian A farmer or smallholder, especially one engaged in a specified branch of agriculture such as dairy, wheat, or cane farming (used informally in Australia and New Zealand).
"Several local dairy cockies attended the rural council meeting to discuss water allocations during the drought."
• Rhymes for cocky
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the mid-16th century, the adjective derives from 'cock' (a rooster) plus the suffix '-y', alluding to the bold, strutting, and pugnacious behavior of a barnyard rooster. The Australian and New Zealand noun senses arose independently in the 19th century as a colloquial shortening of 'cockatoo' (applied metaphorically to small-scale farmers who picked over small plots of land like a flock of cockatoos).