cock feather

English

Alternative forms

• cock-feather, cockfeather

Noun

cock feather (plural cock feathers)

1. One of the feathers on an arrow that is placed at right angles to the nock on the bow, usually having a different color than the other feathers so that it is easily identified.
   • 2011, Sam Fadala, Traditional Archery, page 147:

     Reverse the arrow on the shelf of the bow so that the cock feather, which normally faces outward, is now up against the riser in full contact.

   • 2012, Jak. E. Rander, An Eye for an Eye, page 133:

     He took an arrow from the quiver, which he turned in his fingers, then placed the nock into the string with the cock feather away from his hand.

   • 2014, Brian J. Sorrells, Guide to the Longbow, page 109:

     Most longbow shooters I know, myself included, nock the arrow with the cock feather facing away from the bow.

2. The tailfeather of a cock.
   • 1945, Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, The Making of Russia, page 41:

     A big, burly country squire, with red shaven cheeks, in a green jacket and a green hat with a cock feather, walks around, looks at everything severely.

   • 1978, Room of One's Own - Volume 4, page 157:

     She wore a pale, irridescent dress with a cock feather hat and a tiny crystal heart on a chain.

   • 2016, Timothy Cheek, Jenufa: Translations and Pronunciation, page 28:

     Technically, an engaged man could still wear a kosířek, the white cock feather in his hat meant to impress girls and prove his masculinity, but as soon as he was married he would remove the feather.