woodcockn.
/ˈwʊdkɒk/, U.S. /ˈwʊdˌkɑk/ 1.
a. A migratory bird, Scolopax rusticula, allied to the snipe, common in Europe and the British Islands, having a long bill, large eyes, and variegated plumage, and much esteemed as food. Also, the allied Philohela minor of North America, similar in appearance and habits but smaller.Sometimes understood to denote specifically the male bird, but commonly applied to both sexes; cf. wood-hen n. 1. In sportsman's use with collective plural woodcock; cf. grouse n.1, snipe n., teal n., etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > member of genus Scolopax (woodcock)
woodcockc1050
wood-snitec1050
cock1736
beccaccia1855
wood-snipe1887
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > member of genus Scolopax (woodcock) > scolopax minor
woodcockc1050
wood-snitec1050
timber-doodle1842
Labrador twister1877
wood-snipe1887
c1050 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 258/5 Acega, wuducoc.
a1100 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 132/20 Aceta, snite, uel wudecocc.
1273 Liber Cust. (Rolls) 82 ii wodecokes pro iii obolis.
1321 Liber Cust. (Rolls) 304 Le bon widecoke pur i denier.
c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 164 Un arscye [gloss a wode-koc].
c1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 174 Assez [gloss wodekok].
1347 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 41 9 pluuers, 2 Wodekokes.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 35 Þo crane schalle..be..Draȝun at þo syde as wodcockis.
1486 Bk. St. Albans, Hawking d i The wodecok is comborous to sle: bot if ther be crafte.
1538 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1871) II. 92 A mure fowle viij d, a widcoik viij d.
1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 30 Woodcockes, are of a good temperaunce, and metely lyghte in dygestion.
1658 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 58 Send to the fouller and sie if he can get moor fowles or plivers or partridges or woodcokis.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical iii. 28 Mayors and Woodcocks come in about Michaelmas.
1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. ii. 119 Woodcocks generally arrive here in flocks.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II lxvii. 152 He cannot live, like woodcocks, upon suction.
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 249 In woodcock and true snipe..the eye..is placed far back and high up.
1902 J. Buchan Watcher by Threshold iii. 152 The woodcock are notoriously late.
b. Applied to other birds. (a) Local name for the pileated woodpecker of North America, also called log-cock. (b) little woodcock: = woodcock-snipe n. at Compounds 2. (c) sea woodcock: see sea-woodcock n. at sea n. Compounds 6c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > dryocopus pileatus
log-cock1806
woodcock1809
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > genus Gallinago > gallinago media
woodcock-snipe1880
little woodcock1885
1809 A. Wilson Foresters in Port Folio Nov. 145 Crested wood-cocks hammer from on high.
1885 C. Swainson Provinc. Names Brit. Birds 191 Great Snipe (Gallinago major)..Little woodcock, Woodcock snipe (Ireland).
1888 G. Trumbull Names & Portraits Birds 151.
2. In allusive use (from the ease with which the woodcock is taken in a snare or net), in reference to capture by some trickery, or as a type of gullibility or folly; hence applied to a person: a fool, simpleton, dupe. Obsolete or archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe
foola1382
woodcockc1430
geckc1530
cousinc1555
cokes1567
milch cow1582
gudgeon1584
coney1591
martin1591
gull1594
plover1599
rook1600
gull-finch1604
cheatee1615
goata1616
whirligig1624
chouse1649
coll1657
cully1664
bubble1668
lamb1668
Simple Simon?1673
mouth1680
dupe1681
cull1698
bub1699
game1699
muggins1705
colour1707
milk cow1727
flat1762
gulpin1802
slob1810
gaggee1819
sucker1838
hoaxee1840
softie1850
foozle1860
lemon1863
juggins1882
yob1886
patsy1889
yapc1894
fall guy1895
fruit1895
meemaw1895
easy mark1896
lobster1896
mark1896
wise guy1896
come-on1897
pushover1907
John1908
schnookle1908
Gretchen1913
jug1914
schnook1920
soft touch1924
prospect1931
steamer1932
punter1934
dill1941
Joe Soap1943
possum1945
Moreton Bay1953
easy touch1959
c1430 Lydg. in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 48 With wodcokkes, lerne for to dare.
a1500–34 Cov. Corp. Christi Pl. ii. 432 For, dame, woll I neuer vast my wyttis, To wayte or pry where the wodkoce syttis.
1533 T. More Debellacyon Salem & Bizance i. xiv. f. lxxxii As though he trusted that all the worlde were woodcokkys saue hym self.
1579 S. Gosson Apol. Schoole of Abuse in Ephemerides Phialo f. 89 Cupide sets vpp a Springe for Woodcockes, which are entangled ere they discrie the line.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. v. 81 Now is the Woodcocke neere the gin. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Milton Colasterion 25 This most incogitant woodcock.
1654 T. Washbourne Divine Poems 1 Or like the Wood-cock hide their heads, and then, 'Cause they see none, think none sees them agen.
1679 tr. Trag. Hist. Jetzer 25 What have the wise Woodcocks of the Council to do with our Affairs?
1708 Brit. Apollo 18–20 Feb. That he shou'd not, In his own Trade appear a Woodcock.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth ix, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 214 Poor woodcock, thou art snared!
1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold ii. ii. 37 We hold our Saxon woodcock in the springe, But he begins to flutter.
3. Various transferred uses.
a. = woodcock-shell n. at Compounds 2; more fully thorny woodcock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Muricidae > unspecified species of Murex
thorny-ribs?1711
woodcock1815
1815 S. Brookes Introd. Conchol. 157 Woodcock, Murex Haustellum.
1815 E. J. Burrow Elements Conchol. 202 Murex Tribulus, Thorny Woodcock or Venus Comb.
b. A variety of apple.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular types of fruit > [noun] > apple > cider apples
ruddock1600
redding1611
stocking-apple1629
Harvey1640
genet-moyle1655
moil1657
winter queening1657
must1662
redstreak1662
redstreak apple1664
eleot1676
peeling1676
Sodom apple1676
stire1699
woodcock1700
underleaf1707
coccagee1727
white sour1727
sheepnose1817
Tom Putt1831
cider-apple1875
Slack-ma-girdle1885
sheep's nose1936
1700 Nourse Disc. Benefits Husb. x. 148 The Woodcock is a fair large Apple, and produces an excellent Cyder.
1803 Trans. Soc. Arts 21 262 The old pauson, woodcock, and red musk, are generally large apples.
c. = woodcock soil n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > light or loose soil > type of
woodcock1764
woodcock soil1764
guhr1770
woodcock clay1780
1764 Museum Rusticum (1765) 3 xlvii. 197 Our soils are, in general, either a loam, brick earth, or woodcock, and under them clay.
d. Scotch woodcock: see Scotch adj. and n.3 Compounds 2.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
woodcock-pie n.
Π
1598 Mucedorus sig. F4 Now wee maie goe to breakefast with a woodcoke pie.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 24 Dec. 11/1 Woodcock-pie is..a famous Christmas dish at the Palace.
woodcock-shooting n.
Π
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. II. xvii. 20 Taking my breakfast..with as much indifference as if I were going woodcock-shooting.
C2.
woodcock clay n. = woodcock soil n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > light or loose soil > type of
woodcock1764
woodcock soil1764
guhr1770
woodcock clay1780
1780 A. Young Tour Ireland (Dublin ed.) II. 8 A hill..which is wet woodcock clay.
woodcock-eye n. = snap-hook n. 2.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > hook
hookc900
haspedec1400
cleek1426
cleek-staffc1440
cramp1503
hock1530
gib-crook1564
cramp-iron1565
gib1567
cramper1598
bench hook1619
crampon1660
wall-hook1681
dressing hook1683
woodcock-eye1796
doghook1821
click1846
clipper1849
ice hook1853
witchetty1862
slip-hook1863
snap-hook1875
clip-hook1882
pelican1890
snake hook1944
1796 W. Felton Treat. Carriages (ed. 2) II. 155 Having the trace-rings..made with a screw, whereby they may be changed, and woodcock eyes substituted in their place.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
woodcock-fish n. = snipe-fish n. 1.
woodcock-fly n. a fly used by anglers (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies
stone-flya1450
ant-fly1653
hawthorn-fly1653
mayfly1653
oak fly1653
wall-fly1653
pismire-fly1670
cow-lady1676
mayfly1676
owl fly1676
brown1681
cow-turd-fly1684
trout-fly1746
orl fly1747
hazel fly?1758
iron-blue fly?1758
red spinner?1758
Welshman's button?1758
buzz1760
Yellow Sally1766
ash-fly1787
black caterpillar1787
cow-dung fly1787
sharn-fly1787
spinner1787
woodcock-fly1787
huzzard1799
knop-fly1799
mackerel1799
watchet1799
iron blue1826
knob fly1829
mackerel fly1829
March brown1837
cinnamon fly1867
quill gnat1867
sedge-fly1867
cob-fly1870
woodcock wing1888
sedge1889
olive1895
quill1899
nymph1910
green weenie1977
Montana1987
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 24 Oakfly, Ash-fly, or Woodcock-fly, found on the body of an Oak or Ash..is a brownish fly and is taken from the beginning of May till the end of August.
woodcock gun n. a gun used for shooting woodcocks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > shooting equipment > [noun] > shot-gun or fowling-piece > type of
turnabout1801
twelve1804
stanchion-gun1815
Joe Manton1816
Joe Manton1816
ducking-gun1823
punt gun1824
Purdey1830
shore-gun1841
woodcock gun1858
seven-bore1859
twelve-bore1859
twelve-gauge1859
choke1875
choke-bore1875
cripple-stopper1881
over-and-under1889
ten-gauge1894
ducker1896
tschinke1910
under-and-over1911
over-under1913
side by side1947
1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 205 If making woodcock guns, less elevation is required, the distance of shooting being shorter.
woodcock owl n. a local name for the short-eared owl.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Strigiformes or owl > [noun] > family Strigidae > genus Asio > asio flammeus (short-eared owl)
hawk-owl1747
short-eared owl1766
mouse hawk1772
woodcock owl1840
prairie owl1846
fern-owl1885
1840 W. Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds III. 461 Asio brachyotos. The Streaked Tufted-Owl... Woodcock Owl. Mouse-hawk.
woodcock-shell n. one of several species of Murex having a long spout resembling a woodcock's bill.
woodcock-snipe n. the great snipe, Scolopax major.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Charadriiformes > family Scolopacidae (snipes, etc.) > [noun] > genus Gallinago > gallinago media
woodcock-snipe1880
little woodcock1885
1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. 250 Centriscus scolopax..The trumpet, bellows-fish, woodcock or snipe-fish.
1885Woodcock snipe [see sense 1b]. woodcock soil n. a loose soil consisting of a mixture of clay and gravel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > light or loose soil > type of
woodcock1764
woodcock soil1764
guhr1770
woodcock clay1780
1764 Young in Museum Rusticum III. lxiii. 284 Loose, woodcock, brick-earth soils.
1775 N. Kent Hints to Gentlemen 14 Woodcock-soil generally consists of yellow, or white clay, with a mixture of gravel; is seldom fruitful.
woodcock pilot n. (also woodcock's pilot) a local name for the golden-crested wren (see quot. 1893).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Sylviidae (warbler) > [noun] > genus Regulus > regulus regulus (goldcrest)
yellowbird1625
regulus1750
basilisk1753
marigold bird1772
nettle creeper1772
goldcrest1819
marigold finch1828
kinglet1835
woodcock pilot1871
thumb bird1885
tot-o'er-seas1885
herring spink1906
pope's eye1965
1871 East Anglian IV. 112 ‘Woodcock Pilot’.
1893 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. II 368 The bird [sc. Golden-crested Wren] in autumn visits the east coast in enormous flocks,..they are well known to the fishermen as ‘Woodcock's Pilots,’ from their generally preceding by a few days the advent of those regular immigrants.
1907 Athenæum 11 May 570/2 The most interesting of these local terms is that of ‘woodcock pilot’, by which the goldcrest is known to all the wild fowlers.
woodcock wing n. (a) the wing of a woodcock; (b) = woodcock-fly n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies
stone-flya1450
ant-fly1653
hawthorn-fly1653
mayfly1653
oak fly1653
wall-fly1653
pismire-fly1670
cow-lady1676
mayfly1676
owl fly1676
brown1681
cow-turd-fly1684
trout-fly1746
orl fly1747
hazel fly?1758
iron-blue fly?1758
red spinner?1758
Welshman's button?1758
buzz1760
Yellow Sally1766
ash-fly1787
black caterpillar1787
cow-dung fly1787
sharn-fly1787
spinner1787
woodcock-fly1787
huzzard1799
knop-fly1799
mackerel1799
watchet1799
iron blue1826
knob fly1829
mackerel fly1829
March brown1837
cinnamon fly1867
quill gnat1867
sedge-fly1867
cob-fly1870
woodcock wing1888
sedge1889
olive1895
quill1899
nymph1910
green weenie1977
Montana1987
1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 3528 Except God make me lichter nor ane fedder, Or send me doun gude Widcok wingis to flie.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 7 Apr. 6/1 A bull trout..succumbs to the woodcock wing.
Derivatives
ˈwoodcock v. (intransitive) to act like a woodcock (see quot. 1817, and cf. quot. 1654 at sense 2 above).Apparently an isolated use.
Π
1817 M. Edgeworth Ormond II. vi. 118 Like all cunning people he woodcocks—hides his head, and forgets his body can be seen.
ˈwoodcockize v. (transitive) to make a ‘woodcock’ of, to befool.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > befool, cheat, dupe [verb (transitive)]
belirtOE
bitruflea1250
begab1297
bobc1320
bedaffc1386
befool1393
mock1440
triflea1450
glaik?a1513
bedawa1529
fond?1529
allude1535
gulla1550
dolt1553
dor1570
poop1575
colt1579
foolify1581
assot1583
noddify1583
begecka1586
elude1594
wigeona1595
fool1598
noddy1600
fop1602
begull1605
waddle1606
woodcockize1611
bemocka1616
greasea1625
noddypoop1640
truff1657
bubble1668
cully1676
coaxc1679
dupe1704
to play off1712
noodle1769
idiotize1775
oxify1804
tomfool1835
sammyfoozle1837
trail1847
pipe lay1848
pigwidgeon1852
green1853
con1896
rib1912
shuck1959
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Beccassé, gulled, abused, woodcockised, make a woodcocke.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1928; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.c1050