Dictionary entry

Coxcomb

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Cox″comb′ (k?ks″k?m′), n. [A corrupted spelling of cock's comb.] 1. (a) A strip of red cloth notched like the comb of a cock, which licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps. (b) The cap itself.

2. The top of the head, or the head itself.

We will belabor you a little better,

And beat a little more care into your coxcombs.

Beau & Fl.

3. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a fop.

Fond to be seen, she kept a bevy

Of powdered coxcombs at her levee.

Goldsmith.

Some are bewildered in the maze of schools,

And some made coxcombs, nature meant but fools.

Pope.

4. (Bot.) A name given to several plants of different genera, but particularly to Celosia cristata, or garden cockscomb. Same as Cockscomb.