The Collaborative International Dictionary
Chaparral \Cha`par*ral"\, n. [Sp., fr. chaparro an evergeen oak.]
A thicket of low evergreen oaks.
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An almost impenetrable thicket or succession of thickets of thorny shrubs and brambles.
Chaparral cock; fem. Chaparral hen (Zo["o]l.), a bird of the cuckoo family ( Geococcyx Californianus), noted for running with great speed. It ranges from California to Mexico and eastward to Texas; -- called also road runner, ground cuckoo, churea, and snake killer. It is the state bird of New Mexico.
Cock \Cock\ (k[o^]k), n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation of the cry of the cock. Cf. Chicken.]
The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls.
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A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.
Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!
--Shak. -
A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous]
Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us.
--Addison. -
The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.]
He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock.
--Shak. -
A faucet or valve.
Note: Jonsons says, ``The handle probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason.'' Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma crit[ae] galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb.
The style of gnomon of a dial.
--Chambers.The indicator of a balance.
--Johnson.The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch.
--Knight.-
a penis. [vulgar]
Ball cock. See under Ball.
Chaparral cock. See under Chaparral.
Cock and bull story, an extravagant, boastful story; a canard.
Cock of the plains (Zo["o]l.) See Sage cock.
Cock of the rock (Zo["o]l.), a South American bird ( Rupicola aurantia) having a beautiful crest.
Cock of the walk, a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors.
Cock of the woods. See Capercailzie.
Wiktionary
n. A bird, the road runner.
WordNet
n. speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and Mexico to Texas [syn: roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus]
Usage examples of "chaparral cock".
The chaparral cock was uneasy, but not nearly so nervous as it had been four days ago when Erik had first sat in the yard and waited for the thirsty bird to gather its courage to drink.
Fetterson was down there with the one they called Paisano, because he gave a man a feeling that he was some kin to a chaparral cock or road runner.
This was the home of the crow, but there were other feathered people there, and the chaparral cock.
If I said yes, hed take off in the opposite direction like a chaparral cock.
Like a coyote or a chaparral cock, he could go for days on a few swallows.
Like a chaparral cock with a rattler, the Yaqui began to bait him.