cockatoo

[kok-uh-too, kok-uh-too] /ˈkɒk əˌtu, ˌkɒk əˈtu/

noun, plural cockatoos.

any of numerous large, noisy, crested parrots of the genera Cacatua, Callocephalon, Calyptorhynchus, etc., of the Australasian region, having chiefly white plumage tinged with yellow, pink, or red: popular as a pet.

Australian.

a person who owns and works a small farm or ranch.
Slang. a lookout posted by criminals or the operators of illegal gambling games.

Origin

1610-20; < Dutch kaketoe < Malay kakatua, perhaps etymologizing alteration of Central Moluccan jaka any psittacine bird, by association with Malay kakak sibling, kakak tua older sibling); spelling copies cock¹

British Dictionary definitions for cockatoo

cockatoo

/ˌkɒkəˈtuː; ˈkɒkəˌtuː/

noun (pl) -toos

any of various parrots of the genus Kakatoe and related genera, such as K. galerita (sulphur-crested cockatoo), of Australia and New Guinea. They have an erectile crest and most of them are light-coloured

(Austral & NZ) a small farmer or settler

(Austral, informal) a lookout during some illegal activity

Word Origin

C17: from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua

Word Origin and History for cockatoo

1610s, from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakatua, possibly echoic, or from kakak "elder brother or sister" + tua "old." Also cockatiel (1880), from Dutch diminutive kaketielje (1850), which is perhaps influenced by Portuguese. Spelling influenced by cock (n.1).