tap / space
Classic usage
Reading level: hard
Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency
Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.
Early 17th century, from cock (“male bird”) + tail, in the sense “(a horse with its) tail standing up, like a cock’s”. The origin of the extension to “an alcoholic mixed drink” is unknown. One theory is that it refers to a stimulant (gingering), hence a stimulating drink; compare pick-me-up. Another attested use is for non-thoroughbred racehorses: these were considered "cock-tailed" due to their docked tails. This may have led to the term "cocktail" (sense 1) being used for an adulterated spirit.
Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.
A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning
Sign in to use the worksheet generator.
Upload a file or open a document first.
Sign in to see your reading-vocabulary progress.
Your ledger is waiting
Read a chapter and tap the words you meet. Every word you learn is recorded here as your reading vocabulary grows.
—
Sign in to use vocabulary.
No vocabulary lists yet.
No matching vocabulary.
No words in this vocabulary yet.
Click a word in the Reader to add it.
Sign in to use bookmarks.
No bookmarks saved yet.
No matching bookmarks.
Sign in to save and open your own documents.
No saved documents yet.
Open a file or URL in the Reader, then use “Save to My Docs”.
No cards due — add words to a list.
Loading…
tap / space
Classic usage
No cards due — add words to a list.
Loading…
Building today's round…
Recent books: 0 books
Verbault — Brown corpus levels, WordNet definitions, Gutenberg corpus.
Pick a puzzle source to start.
Sign in to use this source.