First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
cockney
noun cock·ney \ˈkäk-nē\
: a person from the East End of London
: the way of speaking that is typical of cockneys
plural cockneys
Full Definition of COCKNEY
1
obsolete a : a spoiled child b : a squeamish woman
2
often capitalized a : a native of London and especially of the East End of London b : the dialect of London or of the East End of London
— cockney adjective
— cock·ney·fy \ˈkäk-ni-ˌfī\ transitive verb
— cock·ney·ish \-nē-ish\ adjective
— cock·ney·ism \-ˌi-zəm\ noun
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Origin of COCKNEY
Middle English cokeney, literally, cocks' egg, from coken (genitive plural of cok cock) + ey egg, from Old English ǣg
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