What does coxcomical mean?
Coxcomical is an adjective describing someone who behaves like a coxcomb — that is, a vain, conceited fool who is excessively concerned with his own appearance and accomplishments. A coxcomical person is not merely fashionable but absurdly self-satisfied, strutting through life with an exaggerated sense of his own importance, often paired with flashy or overwrought dress. The word derives from coxcomb, which originally meant a cock's crest, then the scarlet cap worn by a court jester, and finally by extension the jester himself and later any foolish, self-important dandy. Coxcomical inherits all of these associations, blending ridicule of vanity with a hint of clownishness. It is chiefly found in literary contexts, especially the satirical fiction and essays of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where figures such as fops and beaux are routinely skewered as coxcomical. Though rare today, it remains a precise and vivid way to mock pompous self-regard.
adjectiveResembling or characteristic of a coxcomb; conceited, vain, and foolishly showy in dress or manner.
- Characteristic of a coxcomb: vain, self-conceited, and given to empty display in dress or manners.
"He cut a coxcomical figure in his brightly embroidered coat and ostentatious cravat."
"His coxcomical preening before every mirror made him the butt of the household's jokes."
"The novel satirizes a coxcomical aristocrat who cares more for his wig than his estate."
It comes from 'coxcomb' — literally a rooster's red crest, which became the name for both a jester's cap and the fools and fops who wore it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coxcomical
Coxcomical derives from coxcomb, an alteration of 'cockscomb,' the fleshy red crest of a rooster (Old English cocc + comb). In the sixteenth century the word came to denote the cap worn by a professional jester, shaped like a cock's comb, and then the jester himself; by extension it named any foolish or conceited person, especially a vain fop. Coxcomical arose as its adjectival form, likely in the seventeenth century, to describe behavior worthy of such a coxcomb. Related formations include coxcombry, the practice of such vain folly.
Related word forms
How coxcomical is actually used
A literary and somewhat archaic term, most at home in 18th- and 19th-century prose and satire. It is always pejorative, implying vanity combined with folly rather than mere elegance.
Easily confused with coxcomical
Comical means funny or amusing, whereas coxcomical describes a vain, conceited, foppish manner.
Cosmical relates to the cosmos or universe, while coxcomical refers to foolishly vain behavior.