Mar 31, 2012
The word cockatoo dates from the 17th century, and is a derivation from the Malay name for these birds, "Kakatuwah" (meaning "vice" or "grip", from its strong beak, or from the call of the white cockatoo itself), via the Dutch kaketoe; the word cock possibly influencing. Seventeenth-century variants include cacato, cockatoon and crockadore, and cokato, cocatore and cocatoo were used in the eighteenth century. The derivation has also been used for the family and generic names Cacatuidae and Cacatua respectively.
In Australian slang or vernacular speech, a person who is assigned to keep watch while others undertake clandestine or illegal activities, particularly gambling, may be referred to as a "cockatoo". Proprietors of small agricultural undertakings are often jocularly or slightly disparagingly referred to as "cocky farmers".
conserved.". Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature: 66–67.
1 J. Simpson, E. Weiner (eds), ed. (1989). "cockatoo". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
2 Mynott, Jeremy (2009). Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 319. ISBN 0-691-13539-8.
3 Higgins, Peter Jeffrey (ed.) (1999). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-19-553071-3.
4 Rowley, Ian (1997). "Family Cacatuidae (Cockatoos)". In Josep, del Hoyo; Andrew, Elliott; Jordi, Sargatal. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 4, Sandgrouse to Cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 246–69. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/84873334229|84873334229]]
5 Richards, Kel. "ABC NewsRadio: wordwatch, Cockatoo". ABC website. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 October 2009.