Middle English Dictionary Entry
cobbe n.
Entry Info
| Forms | cobbe n. |
| Etymology | ?Cp. OI kobbi seal (used also as a nickname); cob(be occurs from c1200 onward as a surname. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
(a) A male swan, cob swan; (b) a gang leader, ?bully.
Associated quotations
a
- (1406) Acc.R.Winch.in NQ ser.11.109 : In soluto Willelmo, swanherde de Twyforde, pro j novo eyrer empt', de eodem ad copuland[um] cum le cobbe existente in riparia.
b
- a1450(1412) Hoccl.RP (Hrl 4866)2806 : Al such mayntenance..Sustened is naght by persones lawe, But Cobbes grete þis ryot sustene.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- (1440) *Capgr.St.Norb.(Hnt HM 55)1582 : We lese not in this hous a heryng-cobbe.
Note: New sense: add sense (c). Gloss: (c) the head; hering ~. Perhaps this is a variant spelling of cop n. (although there are no vrr. forms with "-b(b)-"). See sense 2. ("also, the head").--per MLL