I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: cock (I) + tail
1.
a. : a horse with its tail docked
b. : a horse (as a race horse) not of pure breed
c. : a person passing for a gentleman but underbred
2. : a form of cirrus cloud suggesting the tail of a cock
II. noun
Etymology: probably from cock (I) + tail
1.
a. : a short iced drink containing a strong alcoholic base (as rum, whiskey, or gin) or occasionally wine with the admixture either by stirring or shaking of flavoring and sometimes coloring ingredients (as fruit juice, egg, bitters, liqueur, or sugar) and often garnished (as with a sprig of mint or slice of lemon)
b. : something resembling or suggesting such a drink especially as being a mixture of notably diverse elements
fog and smoke in equal parts — a city cocktail familiar to all — New Yorker
a musical cocktail
2. : an appetizer (as tomato juice, fruit in a syrup, or shrimp in a sauce of catsup, chili sauce, tabasco, and other seasoning) served as a first course at a meal
III. adjective
1. : of, belonging to, or set aside for a cocktail
a cocktail cherry
the cocktail hour
2. of women's clothing : designed for semiformal wear
a cocktail dress
a series of cocktail hats in white felt — Women's Wear Daily
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to entertain by a cocktail party especially as a guest of honor
finds himself cocktailed, partied, and dined like the year's most eligible bachelor — Ray Josephs
intransitive verb
: to drink cocktails
V. noun
: a mixture of agents usually in solution that is taken or used especially for medical treatment or diagnosis
a cocktail of three antiviral drugs
an anesthetic cocktail