The Collaborative International Dictionary
Cock \Cock\, n. [It. cocca notch of an arrow.]
The notch of an arrow or crossbow.
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The hammer in the lock of a firearm.
At cock, At full cock, with the hammer raised and ready to fire; -- said of firearms, also, jocularly, of one prepared for instant action.
At half cock. See under Half.
Cock feather (Archery), the feather of an arrow at right angles to the direction of the cock or notch.
--Nares.
Usage examples of "cock feather".
He knew the mark well and the gray fletching and black cock feather even better.
Each of them had held the bow the right way up, had quickly found the cock feather and set it outwards, each had taken hold of the string to draw the bow &mdash.
When archers are told to cock their bow, this means that the cock feather should point away from the bow.
The other, known as the cock feather, stands at right angles to the nock, and is of a different color.
With a stiff tapered brush, borrowed from Maranth, and an ink stick, he sat in the noonday sun and marked the cock feather on each of the arrows.
Tasaio smoothed a parted cock feather and waited for hiscousin to continue.
The feathering was balloon type, there were three of them, the cock feather marked plainly with some kind of dye, and the fletching feathers had all come from the same side of the bird, after the accepted fashion of good arrow-making.