Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Peacock"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Peacock
(Heb. tuk, apparently borrowed from the Tamil tokei). This bird
is indigenous to India. It was brought to Solomon by his ships
from Tarshish (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chr. 9:21), which in this case
was probably a district on the Malabar coast of India, or in
Ceylon. The word so rendered in Job 39:13 literally means wild,
tumultuous crying, and properly denotes the female ostrich
(q.v.).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Peacock \Pea"cock`\, n. [OE. pecok. Pea- in this word is from
AS. pe['a], p[=a]wa, peacock, fr. L. pavo, prob. of Oriental
origin; cf. Gr. ?, ?, Per. t[=a]us, t[=a]wus, Ar. t[=a]wu?s.
See {Cock} the bird.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) The male of any pheasant of the genus {Pavo},
of which at least two species are known, native of
Southern Asia and the East Indies.
Note: The upper tail coverts, which are long and capable of
erection, are each marked with a black spot bordered by
concentric bands of brilliant blue, green, and golden
colors. The common domesticated species is {Pavo
cristatus}. The Javan peacock ({P. muticus}) is more
brilliantly colored than the common species.
2. In common usage, the species in general or collectively; a
peafowl.
{Peacock butterfly} (Zo["o]l.), a handsome European butterfly
({Hamadryas Io}) having ocelli like those of peacock.
{Peacock fish} (Zo["o]l.), the European blue-striped wrasse
({Labrus variegatus}); -- so called on account of its
brilliant colors. Called also {cook wrasse} and {cook}.
{Peacock pheasant} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of
handsome Asiatic pheasants of the genus {Polyplectron}.
They resemble the peacock in color.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
peacock
n 1: European butterfly having reddish-brown wings each marked
with a purple eyespot [syn: {peacock butterfly}, {Inachis
io}]
2: male peafowl; having a crested head and very large fanlike
tail marked with iridescent eyes or spots
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