Cockneys

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Cockney \Cock"ney\ (k[o^]k"n[y^]), n.; pl. {Cockneys} (-n[i^]z).
     [OE. cocknay, cokenay, a spoiled child, effeminate person, an
     egg; prob. orig. a cock's egg, a small imperfect egg; OE. cok
     cock + nay, neye, for ey egg (cf. {Newt}), AS. [ae]g. See 1st
     {Cock}, {Egg}, n.]
     1. An effeminate person; a spoilt child. "A young heir or


        cockney, that is his mother's darling." --Nash (1592).
        [1913 Webster]
  
              This great lubber, the world, will prove a cockney.
                                                    --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A native or resident of the city of London, especially one
        living in the East End district; -- sometimes used
        contemptuously.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
              A cockney in a rural village was stared at as much
              as if he had entered a kraal of Hottentots.
                                                    --Macaulay.
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     3. the distinctive dialect of a cockney[2].
        [PJC]