# cockchafer

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkɒkˌt͡ʃeɪfɚ/

## Definitions
1. Any of the large European beetles from the genus Melolontha that are destructive to vegetation.
2. Any of various other similar beetles, such as of the genera Acrossidius, Cyphochilus, Rhopaea, etc.

## Etymology
From cock (“male bird”) + chafer (“beetle”). The Oxford English Dictionary speculates that the name may relate to a resemblance of antennae to coxcomb, or to the beetle’s size. Compare French hanneton (“cockchafer”), ultimately from Frankish *hanō (“rooster”). Attested from the late seventeenth century.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cockchafer