noun
cockle
Cockle (noun) means a small edible shellfish found around Europe, with a heart-shaped shell.
noun
1
A small edible shellfish found around Europe, with a heart-shaped shell.
"His wife, a small woman who walked always on high heels, borrowed Gerhardie's primus stove several times a day to cook her husband gargantuan meals of cockles, mussels, snails, and other such unpalatables."
— Dido Davies, Andrew Davies (1990)
2
The shell of this type of shellfish.
3
A small wrinkle or crease.
4
A fault in sheepskin made up of hard dark lumps, caused by insect bites on the live sheep.
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Etymology
Came into English from Middle English cokel, cokkel, kokkel, cocle, of uncertain origin. It may be a diminutive of Middle English cokke, cok (‘cockle’), from Old English cocc (found in sǣcocc, ‘cockle’) plus -le; or it may instead come from Old French coquille, from Vulgar Latin *cocchilia, from conchylia, from Ancient Greek κογχύλιον (konkhúlion), a diminutive of κογχύλη (konkhúlē, ‘mussel’), of Pre-Greek substrate origin.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of cockle?
"cockle" (noun) means a small edible shellfish found around Europe, with a heart-shaped shell.
What are the different meanings of cockle?
"cockle" has 3 main meanings: 1. A small edible shellfish found around Europe, with a heart-shaped shell; 2. The shell of this type of shellfish; 3. A small wrinkle or crease.
