Many perfectly good English words have fallen into disuse and one of the great ones is cockalorum, meaning, in one sense, a small man of immense vanity and conceitedness who possesses a loud voice. According to the OED, it may derive from the Dutch for the echoic crow of a rooster (koekeloeren), but the origin is uncertain. The first citation in English is in 1772, a part of a magician’s conjuring: Is it not delightful and instructive, to hear the unintelligible jargon of presto!—pausto!—maunto!—cockalorum!—yaw! The construction in similar forms appears in other languages, too, in the same context - in a magic act - usually as mock Latin. I learned it in the 1796 folk song, Cam ye O’er frae France, performed by Steeleye Span: Hey for Sandy Don, Hey for Cockolorum, Hey for Bobbing John! An' his Highland quorum! But here’s the beauty part contained my first sentence above.
© 2024 John Oliver
Substack is the home for great culture