Dictionary of Phrase and Fable—C

Coxcomb

An empty-headed, vain person. The ancient licensed jesters were so called because they wore a cock's comb in their caps.

Coxcombs, an ever empty race,
Are trumpets of their own disgrace.

Gay: Fables, xix.

“Let me hire him too; here's my coxcomb.”

Shakespeare: King Lear, i. 4.

The Prince of Coxcombs.
Charles Joseph, Prince de Ligne. (1535-1614.) Richard II. of England is sometimes called the Coxcomb. (1366, 1377-1400.) Henri III. of France was called le Mignon, which means pretty well the same thing. (1551, 1574-1589.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
Coxeyites
Cowper Law
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