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Jul 11, 2014
This week's theme
Words that sound dirty, but aren't

This week's words
hortatory
formicate
assonance
inspissate
cocker

This week's comments
AWADmail 628

Next week's theme
Words that appear to be misspellings
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

cocker

PRONUNCIATION:
(KAHK-uhr)

MEANING:
verb tr.: To pamper or spoil.
noun: A breed of small spaniel dog.

ETYMOLOGY:
For verb: Of obscure origin. Earliest documented use: 1499.
For noun: From the use of such dogs in hunting of birds such as woodcock. Earliest documented use: 1811.

USAGE:
"Parents, by humouring and cockering them when little, corrupt the principles of nature in their children, and wonder afterwards to taste the bitter waters, when they themselves have poisoned the fountain."
John Locke (1632-1704).

See more usage examples of cocker in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I hold one share in the corporate earth and am uneasy about the management. -E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)

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