a1680 S. Charnock Several Disc. Existence of God (1682) 297 The Wavering and Weathercock resolutions of men.

1710 in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 7 Mar. (O.H.S.) II. 356 Not weather-Cock Kennett such turning can show.

1801 E. Wright Marvellous Pleasant Love-story II. 316 Miss Harrison was one of those every-day sort of weather~cock characters who veer about with every varying gust of prejudice, folly, or envy.

1818 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 216 Their political opinions depend with weathercock uncertainty on the winds of rumour that blow from France.

1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel II. 162 In affairs of the heart, Mr. Turchill belonged to the weathercock species.

1898 Aeronaut. Jrnl. Jan. 6/2 The little vertical rudder has a little bit of a weather-cock action. If the wind suddenly shifts, it swings the machine round to head the wind.

1916 G. C. Loening Military Aeroplanes xii. 166 Some tendency to head into the relative wind is necessary. This is obtained by having enough rudder or fin surface aft to bring the directional center back of the c.g. and is called ‘weathercock’ stability.

1928 N. Macmillan Art of Flying vii. 74 A seaplane is usually directionally stable to the wind on the water with engine stopped, a quality which is described as being ‘weathercock’... If the seaplane is weathercock, she will ride head to wind and drift backward.

1935 C. G. Burge Compl. Bk. Aviation 616 Weathercock instability.

1945 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 40 461/2 Weathercock stability should be reasonably high, to cut down the magnitude of the inadvertent skid.

1970 T. Hacker Flight Stability & Control vii. 160 The variation of the vertical tail area will influence the weathercock stability.