different between cheeky vs cocky

English

Etymology

From cheek +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?i?ki/
• Rhymes: -i?ki

Adjective

cheeky (comparative cheekier, superlative cheekiest)

1. (informal) Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
2. (informal) (of swimwear, underwear, etc.) tending to reveal the cheeks of the buttocks.
3. (Australian Aboriginal) Poisonous (of animals such as snakes), dangerous, cunning, violent, potent.
   • 1994, Victoria Katherine Burbank, Fighting Women: Anger and Aggression in Aboriginal Australia, Univ of California Press ?ISBN, page 57

     A death adder is cheeky, a tree snake quiet. Wasps are only cheeky if you hold them in your hand.

   • 1995, Richard Shine, Australian Snakes: A Natural History, Cornell University Press ?ISBN, page 176

     There is no doubt that many have been killed by large elapids, and that Aborigines treat such 'cheeky' snakes (and colubrids of similar appearance) with great respect.

4. (informal, Britain) Indulged in.
   • 2009, Amy Huberman, Hello, Heartbreak, Penguin UK ?ISBN

     Although sometimes I'd award myself a cheeky McDonald's hangover treat if I did well.

   • 2010, Richard Herring, How Not to Grow Up: A Coming of Age Memoir. Sort of., Random House ?ISBN, page 285

     It was a massive struggle to resist the lure of a cheeky beer, but I held firm.

   • 2011, John Donoghue, Police, Crime & 999, Troubador Publishing Ltd ?ISBN, page 7

     It transpired that Mrs Egg had been cooking dinner when she discovered Mr Singlet making himself a sandwich. I don't know about you but it does seem a little bit naught after she's gone to all that effort. Naughty yes but hardly a crime and certainly not enough to warrant a 999 call. Yet that's what she had done. That's why we had left our own dinner, charged through rush hour traffic, disrupted commuters on their way home – all for a cheeky sandwich.

   • 2011, James Goss, Torchwood: First Born, Random House ?ISBN, page 20

     The great thing was it gave him a little bit of freedom and me the chance to sneak a cheeky nap.

Synonyms

• saucy
• insolent
• See Thesaurus:cheeky

Derived terms

• cheeky chappie
• cheeky chops
• cheeky monkey

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General New Zealand) IPA^(key): /?k?ki/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?ki/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?k?ki/
• Rhymes: -?ki

Etymology 1

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) +? -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense of ‘having the quality of’).

Adjective

cocky (comparative cockier, superlative cockiest)

1. Overly confident; arrogant and boastful.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:arrogant

Alternative forms

• cockey
• cockie (rare)

Translations

Etymology 2

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) +? -y (diminutive suffix).

Noun

cocky (plural cockies)

1. (chiefly Britain, Ireland, colloquial, dated) Used as a term of endearment, originally for a person of either sex, but later primarily for a man.

Alternative forms

• cockey
• cockie

Translations

Etymology 3

The noun is derived from cock(atoo) +? -y (diminutive suffix). The verb is derived from the noun.

Noun

cocky (plural cockies) (chiefly Australia, New Zealand, informal)

1. A (familiar name for a) cockatoo.
2. (also attributively) Short for cockatoo farmer (“small-scale farmer”); (by extension) any farmer or owner of rural land.

   Synonyms: cockatoo, crofter

Usage notes

In New Zealand, cocky (sense 2) is often synonymous with sheep cocky (“a sheep farmer”), due to the relative importance of the industry.

Alternative forms

• cockey
• cockie

Derived terms

Verb

cocky (third-person singular simple present cockies, present participle cockying, simple past and past participle cockied)

1. (intransitive, chiefly Australia, informal, historical) To operate a small-scale farm.

   Synonym: cockatoo

Alternative forms

• cockey

Translations

References