What does "cockatoo" mean?
Cockatoo: A fabulous serpent whose breath and look were said to be fatal. See Basilisk. That bare vowel, I, shall poison more Than the death-darting eye of cockatrice. Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.(Her.) A representation of this serpent. It has the head, wings, and legs of a bird, and tail of a serpent.
- 3.(Script.) A venomous serpent which which cannot now be identified. The weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's Note: [Rev. Ver. basilisk's] den. Is. xi.
- 4.4. Any venomous or deadly thing. This little cockatrice of a king. Bacon.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00