||Coc"cyx (?), n.; pl. L. Coccyges (#). [L., cuckoo, Gr. &?;, cuckoo, coccyx. So called from its resemblance to the beak of a cuckoo.] (Anat.) The end of the vertebral column beyond the sacrum in man and tailless monkeys. It is composed of several vertebrŠ more or less consolidated.
Coch"i*neal (k&obreve;ch"&ibreve;*nēl; 277), [Sp. cochinilla, dim. from L. coccineus, coccinus, scarlet, fr. coccum the kermes berry, G. ko`kkos berry, especially the kermes insect, used to dye scarlet, as the cochineal was formerly supposed to be the grain or seed of a plant, and this word was formerly defined to be the grain of the Quercus coccifera; but cf. also Sp. cochinilla wood louse, dim. of cochina sow, akin to F. cochon pig.] A dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of females of the Coccus cacti, an insect native in Mexico, Central America, etc., and found on several species of cactus, esp. Opuntia cochinellifera.
&fist; These insects are gathered from the plant, killed by the application of heat, and exposed to the sun to dry. When dried they resemble small, rough berries or seeds, of a brown or purple color, and form the cochineal of the shops, which is used for making carmine, and also as a red dye.
&fist; Cochineal contains as its essential coloring matter carminic acid, a purple red amorphous substance which yields carmine red.
Coch"i*neal fig (?), (Bot.) A plant of Central and Southern America, of the Cactus family, extensively cultivated for the sake of the cochineal insect, which lives on it.
Co"chin fowl` (?), (Zo÷l.) A large variety of the domestic fowl, originally from Cochin China (Anam).
||Coch"le*a (k&obreve;k"l&esl;*&adot;), n. [L., a snail, or snail shell, Gr. kochli`as a snail, fr. ko`chlos a shellfish with a spiral shell.] (Anat.) An appendage of the labyrinth of the internal ear, which is elongated and coiled into a spiral in mammals. See Ear.
Coch"le*ar (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the cochlea.
||Coch`le*a"re (?), n. [L.] 1. A spoon. Andrews.