cock·roach
(kŏk′rōch′)n.
Any of numerous insects of the order or suborder Blattaria, having oval flat bodies and laying eggs in hardened cases, and including several species that are common household pests.
[By folk etymology from obsolete cacarootch, from Spanish cucaracha, from cuca, caterpillar.]
Word History: The English word cockroach comes from the Spanish cucaracha. An early English form of cockroach is found in the writings of Captain John Smith, the English adventurer who helped found the British colony of Virginia in 1607. In a work first published in 1624, Smith describes the insects on the islands of Bermuda: "Musketas and Flies are also too busie, with a certaine India Bug, called by the Spaniards a Cacarootch, the which creeping into Chests they eat and defile with their ill-sented dung." Smith's spelling of the Spanish word was perhaps influenced by caca, the word for "excrement" in the baby-talk of many European languages, including Spanish and English. Later the form taken by the Spanish word cucaracha in English was influenced by another word, cock, "rooster," and the modern form cockroach was born. (This phenomenon, the alteration of a word resulting from a mistaken assumption about its meaning, is called folk etymology by linguists.) The Spanish word cucaracha has nothing to do with roosters, however. It is thought to be related to cuca, a word for a common kind of moth caterpillar in Spain.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cockroach
(ˈkɒkˌrəʊtʃ)n
(Animals) any insect of the suborder Blattodea (or Blattaria), such as Blatta orientalis (oriental cockroach or black beetle): order Dictyoptera. They have an oval flattened body with long antennae and biting mouthparts and are common household pests. See also German cockroach, mantis
[C17: from Spanish cucaracha, of obscure origin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cock•roach
(ˈkɒkˌroʊtʃ)n.
any of numerous orthopterous insects of the family Blattidae, characterized by a flattened body, rapid movements, and usu. nocturnal habits and including several common household pests. Also called roach.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
cock·roach
(kŏk′rōch′) Any of numerous brownish or black insects having a flat body and usually long antennae. Certain species are common household pests.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  cockroach - any of numerous chiefly nocturnal insects; some are domestic pestsdictyopterous insect - cockroaches and mantids Blattaria, Blattodea, suborder Blattaria, suborder Blattodea - cockroaches; in some classifications considered an order Asiatic cockroach, blackbeetle, Blatta orientalis, oriental cockroach, oriental roach - dark brown cockroach originally from orient now nearly cosmopolitan in distribution American cockroach, Periplaneta americana - large reddish brown free-flying cockroach originally from southern United States but now widely distributed Australian cockroach, Periplaneta australasiae - widely distributed in warm countries Blattella germanica, Croton bug, crotonbug, German cockroach, water bug - small light-brown cockroach brought to United States from Europe; a common household pest giant cockroach - large tropical American cockroaches |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
صَرْصورصَرْصُور
хлебарка
šváb
kakerlak
blato
torakka
žohar
csótánysvábbogár
kacoakecoak
kakkalakki
ゴキブリ
바퀴벌레
blatta
tarakonas
tarakāns
kakkerlaksissende kakkerlak
gândac
šváb
ščurek
kackerlacka
แมลงสาบ
hamam böceğihamamböceği
con gián
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
cockroach
n → Küchenschabe f, → Kakerlak m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
cockroach
(ˈkokrəutʃ) – noun a beetle-like insect which is a household pest.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
cockroach
→ صَرْصُور šváb kakerlak Küchenschabe κατσαρίδα cucaracha torakka cafard žohar scarafaggio ゴキブリ 바퀴벌레 kakkerlak kakerlakk karaluch barata таракан kackerlacka แมลงสาบ hamam böceği con gián 蟑螂Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
cockroach
n. cucaracha.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
cockroach
n cucarachaEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.