[wood.cock] n, pl woodcocks (bef. 12c) 1 or pl woodcock : a widespread Old World woodland bird (Scolopax rusticola) that is related to the sandpipers and snipes; also: a smaller related game bird (Scolopax minor syn. Philohela minor) of eastern No. America
2. [fr. the ease with which the woodcock is snared] archaic: simpleton