Peacock
['piːkɒk] or ['pikɑk]
Definition
(noun.) male peafowl; having a crested head and very large fanlike tail marked with iridescent eyes or spots.
(noun.) European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked with a purple eyespot.
Typist: Rowland--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The male of any pheasant of the genus Pavo, of which at least two species are known, native of Southern Asia and the East Indies.
(n.) In common usage, the species in general or collectively; a peafowl.
Edited by Everett
Definition
n. a large gallinaceous bird of the pheasant kind remarkable for the beauty of its plumage esp. that of its tail:—fem. Pea′hen.—v.t. to cause to strut like a peacock.—v.i. to strut about proudly.—ns. Pea′chick the young of the pea-fowl; Pea′cock-fish a variegated labroid fish; Pea′-fowl the peacock or peahen.
Editor: Orville
Unserious Contents or Definition
For persons dreaming of peacocks, there lies below the brilliant and flashing ebb and flow of the stream of pleasure and riches, the slums of sorrow and failure, which threaten to mix with its clearness at the least disturbing influence. For a woman to dream that she owns peacocks, denotes that she will be deceived in her estimate of man's honor. To hear their harsh voices while looking upon their proudly spread plumage, denotes that some beautiful and well-appearing person will work you discomfort and uneasiness of mind.
Editor: Maureen
Examples
- He bought Mr. Peacock's practice, which, they say, is worth eight or nine hundred a-year. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Heron has described how a pied peacock was eminently attractive to all his hen birds. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- The very port and gait of a swan, or turkey, or peacock show the high idea he has entertained of himself, and his contempt of all others. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Wery fresh,' replied Sam; 'me and the two waiters at the Peacock has been a-pumpin' over the independent woters as supped there last night. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Mr. Pickwick took up his hat, and repaired to the Peacock, but Mr. Winkle had conveyed the intelligence of the fancy-ball there, before him. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Make me a peacock with this bread-crumb. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Don't be a peacock. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- First, Peacock did not send her shoes home. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- You didn't know me, but I knew two friends of yours that were stopping at the Peacock at Eatanswill, at the time of the election. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Peacock, you know, lived in a much smaller house than this. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The view is so lovely, and I like to feed the peacocks. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Typed by Hiram