coxcomb

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a conceited dandy who is overly impressed by his own accomplishments
noun a cap worn by court jesters; adorned with a strip of red
noun the fleshy red crest on the head of the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds

From Middle English cokke’s comb.

"Risk the coxcomb," she said. — Robert Orange: Being a Continuation of the History of Robert Orange, John Oliver Hobbes
We are not savants, coxcombs, fops! — Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
“Oh, the coxcombs!” he muttered reproachfully. — War and Peace, Leo, graf Tolstoy

cockscomb

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