Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Chaparral \Cha`par*ral"\, n. [Sp., fr. chaparro an evergeen
oak.]
1. A thicket of low evergreen oaks.
2. An almost impenetrable thicket or succession of thickets
of thorny shrubs and brambles.
{Chaparral cock}; fem. {Chaparral hen} (Zo["o]l.), a bird of
the cuckoo family ({Geococcyx Californianus}), noted for
running with great speed. It ranges from California to
Mexico and eastward to Texas; -- called also {road
runner}, {ground cuckoo}, {churea}, and {snake killer}
Cock \Cock\, n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation
of the cry of the cock. Cf. {Chicken}.]
1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or
domestic fowls.
2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.
Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! --Shak.
3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous]
Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left
us. --Addison.
4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning;
cockcrow. [Obs.]
He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock.
--Shak.
5. A faucet or valve.
Note: Jonsons says, ``The handly probably had a cock on the
top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently
to have had that form, whatever was the reason.''
Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in
forma crit[ae] galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's
comb.
6. The style of gnomon of a dial. --Chambers.
7. The indicator of a balance. --Johnson.
8. The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of
a balance in a clock or watch. --Knight.
{Ball cock}. See under {Ball}.
{Chaparral cock}. See under {Chaparral}.
{Cock and bull story}, {an extravagant}, boastful story; a
canard.
{Cock of the plains} (Zo["o]l.) See {Sage cock}.
{Cock of the rock} (Zo["o]l.), a South American bird
({Rupicola aurantia}) having a beautiful crest.
{Cock of the walk}, a chief or master; the hero of the hour;
one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or
competitors.
{Cock of the woods}. See {Capercailzie}.
Source : WordNet®
chaparral cock
n : speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and
Mexico to Texas [syn: {roadrunner}, {Geococcyx
californianus}]