Cox"comb` (k?ks"k?m`), n. [A corrupted spelling of cock's comb.]
1. (a) A strip of red
cloth notched like the comb of a cock, which
licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps. (b) The cap itself.
2. The top of the head, or the head itself.
We will belabor you a
little better,
And beat a little more care into your coxcombs.
Beau
& Fl.
3. A
vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender
to knowledge or accomplishments; a fop.
Fond
to be seen,
she kept a bevy
Of powdered coxcombs at her levee.
Goldsmith.
Some are bewildered in the maze of
schools,
And some made coxcombs, nature meant but fools.
Pope.
4. (Bot.) A name given to
several plants of different genera, but particularly to Celosia cristata, or garden cockscomb. Same as Cockscomb.
Hear it pronounced