Celosia cristata

Celosia cristata
    n 1: garden annual with featherlike spikes of red or yellow
         flowers [syn: {cockscomb}, {common cockscomb}, {Celosia
         cristata}, {Celosia argentea cristata}]
    

Coxcomb \Cox"comb`\ (k?ks"k?m`), n. [A corrupted spelling of
   cock's comb.]
   1.
      (a) A strip of red cloth notched like the comb of a cock,
          which licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps.
      (b) The cap itself.
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   2. The top of the head, or the head itself.
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            We will belabor you a little better,
            And beat a little more care into your coxcombs.
                                                  --Beau & Fl.
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   3. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of
      display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or
      accomplishments; a fop.
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            Fond to be seen, she kept a bevy
            Of powdered coxcombs at her levee.    --Goldsmith.
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            Some are bewildered in the maze of schools,
            And some made coxcombs, nature meant but fools.
                                                  --Pope.
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   4. (Bot.) A name given to several plants of different genera,
      but particularly to {Celosia cristata}, or garden
      cockscomb. Same as {Cockscomb}.
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Cockscomb \Cocks"comb`\ (k[o^]ks"k[=o]m`), n. [1st cock, n. +
   comb crest.]
   1. See {Coxcomb}.
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   2. (Bot.) A plant ({Celosia cristata}), of many varieties,
      cultivated for its broad, fantastic spikes of brilliant
      flowers; -- sometimes called {garden cockscomb}. Also the
      {Pedicularis}, or lousewort, the {Rhinanthus
      Crista-galli}, and the {Onobrychis Crista-galli}.
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