Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One of the sharp spurs on the legs of a male gallinaceous bird.
- noun A small wedge of clay or earthenware placed between articles of pottery to prevent their adhering during and after the process of glazing.
- noun In botany: A North American species of thorn, Cratægus Crus-galli, frequently cultivated as an ornamental shrub.
- noun Pisonia aculeata, a West Indian shrub.
- noun A small shell-fish.
- noun The ergot of rye. See
ergot . - noun In British Honduras, Acacia spadicigera, a shrub or small tree armed with curved spines about two inches long, produced in pairs at the base of each branch and each leaf. These thorns are usually hollowed out by ants and serve them as nests.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A variety of Cratægus, or hawthorn (
Cratægus Crus-galli ), having long, straight thorns; -- called alsoCockspur thorn .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
spur of agamecock - noun Any of several unrelated
thorny shrubs
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun small spiny West Indian tree
- noun widely grown stout Old World hay and pasture grass
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Her life so bare that she lacked buttons, for he noted that the top of her dress was held to with a long briar from a cockspur bush.
Cold Mountain Frazier, Charles, 1950- Cold Mountain 2003
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Her life so bare that she lacked buttons, for he noted that the top of her dress was held to with a long briar from a cockspur bush.
Cold Mountain Frazier, Charles, 1950- Cold Mountain 1997
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In the way of fruit-bearing shade trees he recommends sugar maple, flowering dogwood, white and cockspur thorn, native red mulberry, tupelo, black cherry, choke cherry, and mountain ash.
The Bird Study Book Thomas Gilbert Pearson
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The peas are bearing well and the grass is very high, and it will make splendid hay, but I will not mow it until I feel sure there is not a single cockspur left.
A Woman Rice Planter 1914
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We picked nearly a barrelful of cockspur roots from the field.
A Woman Rice Planter 1914
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He took not a spark of interest in the gaming cocks we raised together to compete at the local contests and at the fair, and knew not a gaff from a cockspur.
Richard Carvel — Complete Winston Churchill 1909
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He took not a spark of interest in the gaming cocks we raised together to compete at the local contests and at the fair, and knew not a gaff from a cockspur.
Project Gutenberg Complete Works of Winston Churchill Winston Churchill 1909
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He took not a spark of interest in the gaming cocks we raised together to compete at the local contests and at the fair, and knew not a gaff from a cockspur.
Richard Carvel — Volume 01 Winston Churchill 1909
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The little lady hath no shoon, no skirt that holds together, save by the grace of cockspur thorns that bind the tatters.
The Hidden Children 1899
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He took not a spark of interest in the gaming cocks we raised together to compete at the local contests and at the fair, and knew not a gaff from a cockspur.
Richard Carvel Churchill, Winston, 1871-1947 1899
brtom commented on the word cockspur
"In amazon costume, hard hat, jackboots cockspurred, vermilion waistcoat, fawn musketeer gauntlets with braided drums, long train held up and hunting crop with which she strikes her welt constantly."
Joyce, Ulysses, 15
February 8, 2007