What does "cockney" mean?
Any Londoner.
Cockney
adj, name, noun, slang
adj, name, noun, slang ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any Londoner.
- Grammar: cockney is listed as adj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: acadian, anglo-indian, average man, baseborn.
- Useful contrasts: neutral usage, non Cockney dialect, non Londoner.
- Usage evidence: The Cockney mode of speech, with its unpleasant twang, is a modern corruption without legitimate credentials, and is unworthy of being the speech of any person in the capital city of the Empire.
How to use "cockney"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cockney" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cockney" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cockney" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cockney" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cockney" is acting as adj, name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acadian" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cockney", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any Londoner. UK, slang
"COCKNEY, a native of London. An ancient nickname implying effeminacy, used by the oldest English writers, and derived from the imaginary fool's paradise, or lubberland, Cockaygne."
- 2 A native or inhabitant of parts of the East End of London.
"A cockney in a rural village was stared at as much as if he had entered a kraal of Hottentots."
- 3 the nonstandard dialect of natives of the east end of London wordnet
- 4 A Londoner born within earshot of the city's Bow Bells, or (now generically) any working-class Londoner. UK
"Londoners, and all within the sound of Bow Bell, are in reproach called Cockneys."
- 5 An effeminate person; a spoilt child. obsolete
"A young heir, or cockney, that is his mother's darling[…]"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 a native of the east end of London wordnet
Adjective
- 1 From the East End of London, or London generally. UK, not-comparable
- 2 Alternative form of Cockney. alt-of, alternative, not-comparable
- 3 Of or relating to people from this area or their speech style. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 relating to or resembling a cockney wordnet
- 2 characteristic of Cockneys or their dialect wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 The dialect or accent of such Londoners.
- 2 Alternative form of Cockney. alt-of, alternative
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
neutral usagenon Cockney dialectnon Londonerreceived pronunciation
Example
"The Cockney mode of speech, with its unpleasant twang, is a modern corruption without legitimate credentials, and is unworthy of being the speech of any person in the capital city of the Empire."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cockney"?
Common synonyms include: acadian, anglo-indian, average man, baseborn, below the salt, bourgeois.
How do you use "cockney" in a sentence?
The Cockney mode of speech, with its unpleasant twang, is a modern corruption without legitimate credentials, and is unworthy of being the speech of any person in the capital city of the Empire.
Etymology
Etymology 1
First attested in Samuel Rowland's 1600 The Letting of Humours Blood in the Head-Vaine as "a Bowe-bell Cockney", from Middle English cokenay (“a spoiled child; a milksop, an effeminate man”), used in the 16th c. by English country folk as a term of disparagement for city dwellers, of uncertain etymology. Possibly from Middle English cokeney (“a small, misshapen egg”), from coken (“cocks'(rooster’s)”) + ey (“egg”) or from Cockney and Cocknay, variants of Cockaigne, a mythical land of luxury (first attested in 1305) eventually used as a humorous epithet of London. Compare cocker (“to spoil a child”).
Etymology 2
See Cockney.