*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of cocky

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of ‘having the quality of’).

3 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Overly confident; arrogant and boastful.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of ‘having the quality of’).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "adjective"
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      "expansion": "adjective"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cock",
        "3": "y",
        "t1": "male domestic chicken",
        "id2": "adjectival",
        "pos2": "suffix forming adjectives with the sense of ‘having the quality of’"
      },
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    },
    {
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      },
      "expansion": "¹"
    }
  ],
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    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English:_adjectival"
    ]
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        "Overly confident; arrogant and boastful."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Used as a term of endearment, originally for a person of either sex, but later primarily for a man.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) + -y (diminutive suffix).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "diminutive"
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      "expansion": "diminutive"
    },
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        "2": "cock",
        "3": "y",
        "t1": "male domestic chicken",
        "id2": "diminutive",
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      },
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "1"
      },
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    }
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        "Newfoundland",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A familiar name for a cockatoo. · Clipping of cockatoo farmer (“small-scale farmer”); (by extension) any farmer or owner of rural land.

verb

To operate a small-scale farm.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The noun is derived from cock(atoo) + -y (diminutive suffix). The verb is derived from the noun.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      },
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    },
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      "args": {
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      },
      "expansion": "²"
    },
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      },
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cocky →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y29ja3k