cocktail
Syllabification: (cock·tail)
Pronunciation: /ˈkäkˌtāl/
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Definition of cocktail
noun
Origin:
early 17th century: from cock1 + tail1. The original use was as an adjective describing a creature with a tail like that of a cock, specifically a horse with a docked tail; hence (because hunters and coach horses were generally docked) a racehorse that was not a thoroughbred, having a cock-tailed horse in its pedigree (early 19th cent). sense 1 (originally US, also early 19th century) is perhaps analogous, from the idea of an adulterated spirit
