Cox"comb` (k?ks"k?m`), n. [A corrupted spelling of cock's comb.]

1. (a)

A strip of red cloth notched like the comb of a cock, which licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps.

(b)

The cap itself.

2.

The top of the head, or the head itself

.

We will belabor you a little better, And beat a little more care into your coxcombs. Beau & Fl.

3.

A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a fop.

Fond to be seen, she kept a bevy Of powdered coxcombs at her levee. Goldsmith.

Some are bewildered in the maze of schools, And some made coxcombs, nature meant but fools. Pope.

4. Bot.

A name given to several plants of different genera, but particularly to Celosia cristata, or garden cockscomb. Same as Cockscomb.

 

© Webster 1913.

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