Etymology

ballcock

ball·cock
B3A1L1L1C3O1C3K5

Today it means: An automated valve mechanism, attached to a large floating sphere, that controls the level of liquid in a cistern. Full definition →

First used 18th c.English cock ← Middle English cok ← Old English cocc
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  2. Proto-Germanic*balluz
  3. Old English*beall
  4. Middle Englishbal
  5. Englishball
  6. Proto-Germanic*keukô
  7. Proto-Germanic*kukkaz
  8. Proto-West Germanic*kokk
  9. Old Englishcocc
  10. Middle Englishcok
  11. Englishcock
  12. English todayballcock

From ball + cock. First attested in 1734.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 18th c. An automated valve mechanism, attached to a large floating sphere, that controls the level of liquid in a cistern.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.