Cockchafer
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of the large European beetles from the genus Melolontha that are destructive to vegetation.
"To the person who shall discover to the Society an effectual method, verified by repeated and satisfactory trials, of destroying the Grub of the Cockchafer, so destructive to the roots of all sorts of Corn, Pease, Beans, and Turneps, the gold medal."
- 2 any of various large European beetles destructive to vegetation as both larvae and adult wordnet
- 3 Any of various other similar beetles, such as of the genera Acrossidius, Cyphochilus, Rhopaea, etc.
Example
More examples""It's a pity that we'll die in some days and we won't see our children growing up. They'll surely be clever and cute", said the mother cockchafer."
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.
Related phrases
More for "cockchafer"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.