peacock

noun

1. (countable, usually)A male peafowl, especially Pavo cristatus, notable for its brilliant iridescently ocellated tail.

   “The ſpring diſplaying her elegant taſte, the proud walk of the gold-feathered pheaſant, the light tread of the ſmall-hoofed hind, and the dancing of the ſtar-trained peacock, infuſed joy into the ſoul of the ſpectator of the aſtoniſhing works of the Creator.”

2. (countable, usually)A peafowl (of the genus Pavo or Afropavo), either male or female.
3. (uncountable, usually)The meat of this bird.

   “When a reader recently inquired if people really eat peacock, I stated that I’d never tasted the bird, roasted or otherwise, and as far as I knew, it is rarely cooked anywhere in the world.”

   “Nor do many people today long to eat peacock, which was both a privilege and an ordeal reserved for royalty.”

   “Nero, infamous emperor of Rome, built a rotating dining room in which guests could eat peacock while flower petals fluttered down from special panels in the ivory ceiling.”

4. (countable, usually)A pompous or vainglorious person [from the 14th c.].
5. (countable, usually)Any of various Asian species of papilionid butterflies of the genus Papilio.

verb

1. (intransitive)To strut about proudly or haughtily.

   “A routine border-check in upstate New York had turned into a back-room interrogation, and I was worried, because the three friends I was traveling with didn’t respond to authority well. I could almost hear the wry grins cracking their faces as the officers peacocked. “Is U.S. Customs a joke to you?” one officer asked. My friend Alex said, “No law against smiling, sir.””

2. (intransitive)To engage in peacocking, ostentatious dress or behaviour to impress women.

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A surname transferred from the nickname.
2. (countable, uncountable)A township in Lake County, Michigan, United States.
3. (countable, uncountable)An unincorporated community in Stonewall County, Texas, United States.