Meanings
plural cockerels
- A young male chicken.
He had made arrangements with the cockerel to call him three-quarters of an hour earlier in the mornings instead of half an hour.
1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC1 more example
“Mrs. Boast can’t have got all these from one hatching,” [Ma] said. “I do believe there’s not more than two cockerels among them.” “The Boasts have got such a head-start with chickens, likely they’re planning to eat friers this summer,” said Pa. “It may be she took a few cockerels out of this flock, looking on them as meat.”
1941, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little Town on the Prairie
Origin
- Middle Englishkokerel
- Englishcockerel
From Middle English kokerel. By surface analysis, cock + -rel.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian пе́тле
- пе́тле (pétle)young male chicken
Catalan pollastre, pollet
- pollastreyoung male chicken
- polletyoung male chicken
- butza (quan encara no té plomes)young male chicken
Chinese Mandarin 小公雞 /小公鸡
- 小公雞 /小公鸡 (xiǎo gōngjī)young male chicken
Czech kohoutek
- kohoutekyoung male chicken
Danish hanekylling
- hanekyllingyoung male chicken
Dutch haantje
- haantjeyoung male chicken
Estonian kukepoeg
- kukepoegyoung male chicken
Finnish kukonpoika
- kukonpoikayoung male chicken
French coquelet
- coqueletyoung male chicken
German Hähnchen, Junghahn
- Hähnchenyoung male chicken
- Junghahnyoung male chicken
- junger Hahnyoung male chicken
Greek πετεινάρι, κοκοράκι
- πετεινάρι (peteinári)young male chicken
- κοκοράκι (kokoráki)young male chicken
Hungarian kiskakas
- kiskakasyoung male chicken
Italian galletto, pollastra
- gallettoyoung male chicken
- pollastrayoung male chicken
- pollastroyoung male chicken
Japanese 若いおんどり
- 若いおんどり (wakai ondori)young male chicken
Korean 어린 수탉
- 어린 수탉 (eorin sutak)young male chicken
Latvian gailēns
- gailēnsyoung male chicken
Polish kogucik
- kogucikyoung male chicken
Portuguese frango
- frangoyoung male chicken
Punjabi کُکَڑ
- کُکَڑ (kukaṛ)young male chicken
Romanian cocoșel
- cocoșelyoung male chicken
Russian петушо́к
- петушо́к (petušók)young male chicken
Slovak kohútik
- kohútikyoung male chicken
Spanish gallo, gallito
- galloyoung male chicken
- gallitoyoung male chicken
Swahili jimbi
- jimbiyoung male chicken
Tagalog tatandangin
- tatandanginyoung male chicken
Cite this entry
cockerel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cockerel
“cockerel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cockerel. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cockerel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cockerel.
Source: cockerel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.