Word
cockney
Phoneticscock·ney
US/ˈkɑkni/
UK/kˈɒkni/
Definitions
01a person from East London
n. a person born in the East End of London, traditionally within hearing distance of the Bow Bells.
n. a native of the East End of London, specifically one born within the sound of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church.
“My grandfather was a true Cockney who grew up near the docks.”
“While the term is often applied to any working-class Londoner, a true Cockney must technically be born within earshot of the Bow Bells.”
British English
Synonyms
02the dialect or accent
n. the specific accent and way of speaking used by people from East London.
n. the distinct working-class dialect of London, characterised by specific phonological features and rhyming slang.
“He spoke with a thick Cockney accent that was hard for tourists to understand.”
“The actor spent months working with a voice coach to master the nuances of Cockney for his role as a Victorian street merchant.”
British English
03relating to Cockneys
adj. relating to the people or the language of the East End of London.
adj. pertaining to the inhabitants, culture, or speech patterns of the East End of London.
“We went to a traditional Cockney pub for some pie and mash.”
“The play features several Cockney characters whose dialogue is peppered with traditional rhyming slang.”
British English
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“She seems like a figure risen from London’s past, with an old-fashioned cockney accent, and thinks of herself as a seller of “bags of coal”.” Etymology
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 adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/cockney