# What Is The Orgin Of The New Meaning Of The Word "Cock"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087 "2010-03-03T04:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reaperdeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Reaperdeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reaperdeath)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/1 "2010-03-03T04:49:24Z")
When and how did the synonym of the word “rooster” become the synonym of male reproductive glands? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/2 "2010-03-03T05:19:21Z")
[Online Etymology Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cock) [Wiki Answers](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_the_word_%27cock%27) (but beware; no ducmentation is given for their assertions) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/3 "2010-03-03T06:20:09Z")
> [@Reaperdeath](#): > > When and how did the synonym of the word “rooster” become the synonym of male reproductive glands? “Cock” (penis) is not a reproductive gland. For those, the common/vulgar term is “balls”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/4 "2010-03-03T06:40:11Z")
The OED gives us this: > [@](#): > > 20.IV.20 = Penis: Ger. hahn, hähnchen. > (The current name among the people, but, pudoris causa, not admissible in polite speech or literature; in scientific language the Latin is used. In origin perhaps intimately connected with sense 12.) > > 1618 N. Field Amends for Ladies 1, Oh man what art thou? When thy cock is up? 1714 Cabinet of Love, View my sore cock, his tender wounded head. 1730–36 in Bailey (Folio). 1737 tr. Rabelais I. 185 note. [So in ed. 1807 (Longmans, etc.) I. 169, and ed. 1849 (Bohn) I. 135.] 1967 A. S. Byatt Game xvii. 233 Guts and cock and all,‥every little bit except the hair and teeth. 1969 Landfall XXIII. 107 ‘She had her hand on his cock.’ ‘There’s no need to be crude.’ So since 1618. Domestic fowl usage has been since 897 ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/5 "2010-03-03T14:35:01Z")
I thought there might be some correlation between the phenomenon of morning wood and the traditional role a rooster to wake people up in the morning. Apparently not, but I still like that explanation better. : ) ---
**Author:** ![dragoncat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@dragoncat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragoncat)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/6 "2010-03-03T15:18:55Z")
In which culture? [http://webhome.idirect.com/~boweevil/BaliCockGeertz.html](http://webhome.idirect.com/~boweevil/BaliCockGeertz.html) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/7 "2010-03-03T15:23:43Z")
For what it’s worth, the corresponding Scandinavian word is [_kuk_](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kuk). The Swedish Wiktionary claims that the two words are related, as is _gök_ = cuckoo. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/8 "2010-03-03T15:34:57Z")
In those early cites it looks to me like cock is being used as a rather mild euphemism, which is interesting considering the Scandinavian word is so similar but goes back to norse language in its current meaning. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/9 "2010-03-03T15:41:27Z")
Hey, it’s the male bird whose only job is to mate with the females, early and often. ---
**Author:** ![kevlaw](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kevlaw/32/2281_2.png) [@kevlaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevlaw)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/10 "2010-03-03T15:54:11Z")
This is rather suggestive ([from the online etymology dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cock)): > [@](#): > > cock (n.1) > O.E. cocc, [O.Fr](http://O.Fr). coq, O.N. kokkr, all of echoic origin. O.E. cocc was a nickname for “one who strutted like a cock,” thus a common term in the Middle Ages for a pert boy, used of scullions, apprentices, servants, etc. […] Slang sense of “penis” is attested since 1618 (but cf. pillicock “penis,” from c.1300) Rooster -\> one who struts -\> pert boy -\> erect penis ? Or how about: > [@](#): > > cock (v.) Look up cock at [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) > seeming contradictory senses of “to stand up” (as in cock one’s ear), c.1600, and “to bend” (1898) are from the two cock nouns. The first is probably in reference to the posture of the bird’s head or tail, the second to the firearm position rooster -\> stand up erect -\> erec ears -\> erect penis ? I seem to remember that the double-entendre works in Balinese too but I can’t find a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/11 "2010-03-03T16:51:01Z")
The English word rooster is _tupp_ in Swedish and the expression “a frog in the throat” corresponds to _“en tupp i halsen”_. I know at least one person who has said after clearing her throat “Excuse me, I just got a cock in my throat”. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/12 "2010-03-03T19:03:32Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > So since 1618. Domestic fowl usage has been since 897 Or possibly earlier, [as this poem, from the 14th-15th centuries](http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/TEAMS/s9frm.htm), attests: > [@](#): > > **I Have a Gentle Cock** > > I have a gentil cok, > Crowyt me day; > He doth me rysyn erly, > My matyins for to say. > > I have a gentil cok, > Comyn he is of gret; > His comb is of reed corel, > His tayil is of get. > > I have a gentyl cook, > Comyn he is of kynde; > His comb is of red corel, > His tayl is of inde. > > His legges ben of asor, > So gentil and so smale; > His spores arn of sylver qwyt, > Into the wortewale. > > His eynyn arn of cristal, > Lokyn al in aumbry; > And every nyght he perchit hym > In myn ladyis chaumbyr. Or, in [the modern vernacular](http://www.lone-star.net/literature/middle_english/mygentlecock.htm): > [@](#): > > My Gentle Cock > > I have a gentle cock > Who crows the day; > He gets me up early > My prayers to say. > > I have a gentle cock, > He’s descended from the great; > His comb is of red coral, > His tail is of black. > > His legs are azure, > So gentle & so small; > His spurs are of silver > Down to the wall. > > His eyes are of crystal, > Set all in amber; > & every night he perches > In my lady’s chamber. According to [this page](http://www.islingtontribune.com/reviews/books/2009/dec/poem-you-are-most-passionate-about), the poem is “attributed to the monastery of Bury St Edmonds.” So, looking at it from a theological perspective: “He gets me up early My prayers to say” and, “every night he perches In my lady’s chamber.” Yes, it’s all metaphorical, no doubt. Some deep mystical meaning. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/13 "2010-03-03T19:36:33Z")
Were there a whole lot of “lady’s chamber’s” in monasteries? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/14 "2010-03-03T20:10:40Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Were there a whole lot of “lady’s chamber’s” in monasteries? Monks and friars had a notorious reputation for lechery before the Catholic Counter-Reformation when the church authorities cleaned house. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/15 "2010-03-03T20:32:55Z")
If we can generalize to birds in general, several of Catullus’ poems use “sparrow” (“passer”, in Latin) as slang for the penis. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/16 "2010-03-03T20:39:29Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Monks and friars had a notorious reputation for lechery before the Catholic Counter-Reformation when the church authorities cleaned house. There’s that. Plus, of course, a monk’s as free to write non-autobiographical poetry as anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/17 "2010-03-04T00:11:10Z")
> [@kevlaw](#): > > rooster -\> stand up erect -\> erec ears -\> erect penis ? Your reference says exactly the opposite. Rooster refers to something bent. Cock in the sense of standing up derives from the position of the hammer on a firearm. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/18 "2010-03-04T02:20:50Z")
eh? [QUOTE=kevlaw] seeming contradictory senses of “to stand up” (as in cock one’s ear), c.1600, and “to bend” (1898) are from the two cock nouns. The first is probably in reference to the posture of the bird’s head or tail, the second to the firearm position [/QUOTE] **kevlaw’s** cite says that the sense of “standing up” is derived from the bird’s head or tail, while “bent” is from the firearm position. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/19 "2010-03-04T06:35:33Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > The English word rooster is _tupp_ in Swedish and the expression “a frog in the throat” corresponds to _“en tupp i halsen”_. I know at least one person who has said after clearing her throat “Excuse me, I just got a cock in my throat”. And penis ensued!😃 Actually in the southern US the word cock is also used for the female genitalia. Often when someone is called a cocksucker the reply is “yeah, SOUTHERN COCKSUCKER!”. ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087/20 "2010-03-04T16:57:59Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > And penis ensued!😃 > > Actually in the southern US the word cock is also used for the female genitalia. Often when someone is called a cocksucker the reply is “yeah, SOUTHERN COCKSUCKER!”. Not that I doubt your word, but the top hits on google for “southern cocksucker” are gay personal ads and this thread (!). Are you pulling my Yankee leg? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-orgin-of-the-new-meaning-of-the-word-cock/531087.md?page=2)