What does cockled mean?
"Cockled" describes a surface that has wrinkled or puckered into short, irregular ridges, and it also serves as the past tense and past participle of the verb "cockle," meaning to form such wrinkles. The word applies most often to paper, fabric, or other thin materials that have buckled through exposure to moisture, heat, or age — a damp-stained book might have cockled pages, or a washed garment might emerge cockled at the seams. It can also describe wrinkling of skin. Though the literal uses are now somewhat literary or specialist, the word survives prominently in the affectionate idiom "to warm the cockles of someone's heart," meaning to give deep pleasure or comfort. That idiom traces back to an old belief, echoed in medieval anatomy, that the chambers of the heart resemble a cockleshell. "Cockled" ultimately derives from "cockle," the edible marine mollusc, whose ribbed shell suggested the shape of these wrinkles. It carries a mildly old-fashioned charm and pairs naturally with words like "creased" and "puckered."
Wrinkled or puckered into short, irregular ridges, especially of paper, fabric, or skin.
"The cockled pages of the water-damaged ledger were still legible."
Most frequently encountered in descriptions of damaged or aged paper and textiles.
Past tense and past participle of "cockle": to become, or to cause something to become, wrinkled in this way.
"The heat of the iron cockled the delicate vellum."
When something warms the cockles of your heart, you're literally being told it warms a little shell-shaped chamber inside you.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cockled
"Cockled" derives from "cockle," the common name for edible saltwater molluscs of the genus Cerastoderma (formerly Cardium), which came into Middle English via Old French "coquille" from Latin "conchylium," itself borrowed from Greek "konchē." The wrinkled, ribbed texture of the cockle's shell gave rise by association to the verb "cockle," meaning to pucker or wrinkle, attested by around the early seventeenth century, with "cockled" as its participle and adjectival form. Cognates sharing the same classical root include "conch" and "conchology."
Related word forms
How cockled is actually used
As an adjective, "cockled" appears most often in descriptions of paper and textiles that have warped from moisture or age; the usage is somewhat literary or technical rather than everyday. The related idiom "the cockles of one's heart" is far more common in modern speech than the literal senses of the word.
Easily confused with cockled
"Cockled" means wrinkled or puckered, while "cackled" is the past tense of "cackle," meaning to laugh loudly or harshly like a hen.