cockatrice
/ˈkɒkətɹaɪs/noun
cockatrice is spelled C-O-C-K-A-T-R-I-C-E: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cockatrice means “A monster with a lethal gaze or breath, originally believed to originate from a cock egg brooded over by a snake or toad, later specifically…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cockatrice is cockatrices.
How many letters and syllables are in cockatrice?
| Letters | 10: C-O-C-K-A-T-R-I-C-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 131,834th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cockatrice?
Cockatrice appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cockatrice?
- /ˈkɒkətɹaɪs/
- /ˈkɒkətɹɪs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-cockatrice.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cockatrice
- cockatrices plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cockatrice mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteSynonym of basilisk, a serpentine dragon so poisonous that even its gaze is deadly.
Vp on the eddere and the kokatrice thou shalt go
- 2
A monster with a lethal gaze or breath, originally believed to originate from a cock egg brooded over by a snake or toad, later specifically combining serpentine and landfowl features and particularly (heraldry) a rooster-headed wyvern.
A forlyued cok leiþ eiren in his laste elde... and ȝif any venemous worme sittiþ on broode þerevppon in þe canyculer dayes, þerof is igendrid... a cocatrice.
- 3
obsoleteSynonym of crocodile.
- 4
archaicderogatoryAn evil, deceitful, or destructive person.
- 5
archaicderogatorySynonym of whore, a female prostitute, a sexually promiscuous woman.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cockatrice in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense legendary creature:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cockatrice come from?
From Middle English cocatrice, from Old French cocatriz (“basilisk, cockatrice”), from Late Latin calcātrīx (“female trampler, treader”), from Latin calcāre (“to trample, to walk upon, to oppress”) + -trīx (“-ess: forming feminine agentives”), from calx (“heel”). Its eventual association with poultry influenced by cock (“rooster, male chicken”), q.v.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).