Part 321

||Coc"cus (?), n.; pl. Cocci (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; grain, seed. See Cochineal.] 1. (Bot.) One of the separable carpels of a dry fruit.

2. (Zo÷l.) A genus of hemipterous insects, including scale insects, and the cochineal insect (Coccus cacti).

3. (Biol.) A form of bacteria, shaped like a globule.

Coc*cyg"e*al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the coccyx; as, the coccygeal vertebrŠ.

Coccygeal glands (Zo÷l.) , glands situated at the base of the tail of birds. They secrete the oil with which the plumage is dressed.

Coc*cyg"e*ous (?), a. Coccygeal. [R.]

||Coc"cyx (?), n.; pl. L. Coccyges (#). [L., cuckoo, Gr. &?;, cuckoo, coccyx. So called from its resemblance to the beak of a cuckoo.] (Anat.) The end of the vertebral column beyond the sacrum in man and tailless monkeys. It is composed of several vertebrŠ more or less consolidated.

Coch"i*neal (k&obreve;ch"&ibreve;*nēl; 277), [Sp. cochinilla, dim. from L. coccineus, coccinus, scarlet, fr. coccum the kermes berry, G. ko`kkos berry, especially the kermes insect, used to dye scarlet, as the cochineal was formerly supposed to be the grain or seed of a plant, and this word was formerly defined to be the grain of the Quercus coccifera; but cf. also Sp. cochinilla wood louse, dim. of cochina sow, akin to F. cochon pig.] A dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the Coccus cacti, an insect native in Mexico, Central America, etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. Opuntia cochinellifera.

&fist; These insects are gathered from the plant, killed by the application of heat, and exposed to the sun to dry. When dried they resemble small, rough berries or seeds, of a brown or purple color, and form the cochineal of the shops, which is used for making carmine, and also as a red dye.

&fist; Cochineal contains as its essential coloring matter carminic acid, a purple red amorphous substance which yields carmine red.

Coch"i*neal fig (?), (Bot.) A plant of Central and Southern America, of the Cactus family, extensively cultivated for the sake of the cochineal insect, which lives on it.

Co"chin fowl` (?), (Zo÷l.) A large variety of the domestic fowl, originally from Cochin China (Anam).

||Coch"le*a (k&obreve;k"l&esl;*&adot;), n. [L., a snail, or snail shell, Gr. kochli`as a snail, fr. ko`chlos a shellfish with a spiral shell.] (Anat.) An appendage of the labyrinth of the internal ear, which is elongated and coiled into a spiral in mammals. See Ear.

Coch"le*ar (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the cochlea.

||Coch`le*a"re (?), n. [L.] 1. A spoon. Andrews.

2. (Med) A spoonful. Dungleson.

Coch`le*ar"i*form (?), a. [Cochleare + -form.] Spoon-shaped.

Coch"le*a*ry (?), a. [L. cochlearum penfor snails (meaning formerly given, snail shell). See Cjchlea.] Same as Cochleate.

{ Coch"le*ate (?), Coch"le*a`ted (?), } a. [L. cochleatus spiral or screw- formed. See Cochlea.] Having the form of a snail shell; spiral; turbinated.

Cock (?), n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation of the cry of the cock. Cf. Chicken.] 1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls.

2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.

Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! Shak.

3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous]

Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us. Addison.

4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.]

He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. Shak.

5. A faucet or valve.

&fist; Jonsons says, "The handle probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason." Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma critŠ galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb.