"cobber" meaning in English

See cobber in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈkɒbɚ/ Audio: EN-AU ck1 cobber.ogg Forms: cobbers [plural]
Rhymes: -ɒbə(ɹ) Etymology: Uncertain. Perhaps from Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”), from Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”), possibly via Dutch gabber; alternately, perhaps from the British dialectal term cob (“take a liking to”), or a conflation of both. The suggestion that it is a self-referential collective term for convicts and immigrants who departed for Australian shores from the Irish port of Cobh seems chronologically unlikely. Etymology templates: {{unc|en}} Uncertain, {{der|en|yi|חבֿר||friend, comrade|sc=Hebr|tr=khaver}} Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”), {{der|en|he|חבר||friend|tr=ḥāḇēr}} Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} cobber (plural cobbers)
  1. (Australia, slang, dated) A pal, buddy, mate, friend; often used in direct address by one male to another. Tags: Australia, dated, slang Translations (Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend): stary [masculine] (Polish), приятель (prijatelʹ) [masculine] (Russian), старина (starina) [masculine] (Russian)
    Sense id: en-cobber-en-noun-PseaAs7S Categories (other): Australian English, Entries with translation boxes Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 45 55 Disambiguation of 'Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend': 87 13
  2. (Australia) A sweet consisting of a small block of hard caramel covered in chocolate. Tags: Australia
    Sense id: en-cobber-en-noun-3UJsdMdo Categories (other): Australian English, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms of address, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Russian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 36 64 Disambiguation of English terms of address: 40 60 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 45 55 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 35 65 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 35 65 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 42 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 43 57
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: cobber up

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "cobber up"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain",
      "name": "unc"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yi",
        "3": "חבֿר",
        "4": "",
        "5": "friend, comrade",
        "sc": "Hebr",
        "tr": "khaver"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "he",
        "3": "חבר",
        "4": "",
        "5": "friend",
        "tr": "ḥāḇēr"
      },
      "expansion": "Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Uncertain. Perhaps from Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”), from Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”), possibly via Dutch gabber; alternately, perhaps from the British dialectal term cob (“take a liking to”), or a conflation of both. The suggestion that it is a self-referential collective term for convicts and immigrants who departed for Australian shores from the Irish port of Cobh seems chronologically unlikely.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cobbers",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "cobber (plural cobbers)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Australian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "What's up, cobber?"
        },
        {
          "text": "G'day cobber!"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1953, Nevil Shute, In the Wet, published 2010, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "“He′s a good cobber, even if he is the parson,” he said at last. “He′s a good cobber.”\n“That′s right,” said Jim patiently. “He′s a good cobber, and he′s the parson. Now you buzz off and leave him be. We′ve got business to talk here.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1955, Charles McCormac, “You′ll Die in Singapore!”, page 181:",
          "text": "He was the first member of our forces we had seen for five months. “Hi ya, cobber,” muttered Don.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, George W. Adams, Under the Southern Cross, page 137:",
          "text": "A voice from out of nowhere challenged: “Who is going away cobber?” “Bob!” I shouted. “Boy, am I glad to see you ... Where the hell have you been, my dear bloody cobber?”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pal, buddy, mate, friend; often used in direct address by one male to another."
      ],
      "id": "en-cobber-en-noun-PseaAs7S",
      "links": [
        [
          "pal",
          "pal"
        ],
        [
          "buddy",
          "buddy"
        ],
        [
          "mate",
          "mate"
        ],
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia, slang, dated) A pal, buddy, mate, friend; often used in direct address by one male to another."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "dated",
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "87 13",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "stary"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 13",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "prijatelʹ",
          "sense": "Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "приятель"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "87 13",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "starina",
          "sense": "Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "старина"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Australian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "36 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms of address",
          "parents": [
            "Terms of address",
            "Terms by usage"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 65",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "35 65",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 58",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 57",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A sweet consisting of a small block of hard caramel covered in chocolate."
      ],
      "id": "en-cobber-en-noun-3UJsdMdo",
      "links": [
        [
          "sweet",
          "sweet"
        ],
        [
          "block",
          "block"
        ],
        [
          "caramel",
          "caramel"
        ],
        [
          "chocolate",
          "chocolate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia) A sweet consisting of a small block of hard caramel covered in chocolate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkɒbɚ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "EN-AU ck1 cobber.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/74/EN-AU_ck1_cobber.ogg/EN-AU_ck1_cobber.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/EN-AU_ck1_cobber.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒbə(ɹ)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "cobber"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English endearing terms",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Hebrew",
    "English terms derived from Yiddish",
    "English terms of address",
    "English terms with unknown etymologies",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒbə(ɹ)",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒbə(ɹ)/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "cobber up"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain",
      "name": "unc"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yi",
        "3": "חבֿר",
        "4": "",
        "5": "friend, comrade",
        "sc": "Hebr",
        "tr": "khaver"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "he",
        "3": "חבר",
        "4": "",
        "5": "friend",
        "tr": "ḥāḇēr"
      },
      "expansion": "Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Uncertain. Perhaps from Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”), from Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”), possibly via Dutch gabber; alternately, perhaps from the British dialectal term cob (“take a liking to”), or a conflation of both. The suggestion that it is a self-referential collective term for convicts and immigrants who departed for Australian shores from the Irish port of Cobh seems chronologically unlikely.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "cobbers",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "cobber (plural cobbers)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Australian English",
        "English dated terms",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "What's up, cobber?"
        },
        {
          "text": "G'day cobber!"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1953, Nevil Shute, In the Wet, published 2010, unnumbered page:",
          "text": "“He′s a good cobber, even if he is the parson,” he said at last. “He′s a good cobber.”\n“That′s right,” said Jim patiently. “He′s a good cobber, and he′s the parson. Now you buzz off and leave him be. We′ve got business to talk here.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1955, Charles McCormac, “You′ll Die in Singapore!”, page 181:",
          "text": "He was the first member of our forces we had seen for five months. “Hi ya, cobber,” muttered Don.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, George W. Adams, Under the Southern Cross, page 137:",
          "text": "A voice from out of nowhere challenged: “Who is going away cobber?” “Bob!” I shouted. “Boy, am I glad to see you ... Where the hell have you been, my dear bloody cobber?”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pal, buddy, mate, friend; often used in direct address by one male to another."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pal",
          "pal"
        ],
        [
          "buddy",
          "buddy"
        ],
        [
          "mate",
          "mate"
        ],
        [
          "friend",
          "friend"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia, slang, dated) A pal, buddy, mate, friend; often used in direct address by one male to another."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "dated",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Australian English"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A sweet consisting of a small block of hard caramel covered in chocolate."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "sweet",
          "sweet"
        ],
        [
          "block",
          "block"
        ],
        [
          "caramel",
          "caramel"
        ],
        [
          "chocolate",
          "chocolate"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia) A sweet consisting of a small block of hard caramel covered in chocolate."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈkɒbɚ/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "EN-AU ck1 cobber.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/74/EN-AU_ck1_cobber.ogg/EN-AU_ck1_cobber.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/EN-AU_ck1_cobber.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒbə(ɹ)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "stary"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "prijatelʹ",
      "sense": "Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "приятель"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "starina",
      "sense": "Australian: a pal, buddy, mate, friend",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "старина"
    }
  ],
  "word": "cobber"
}

Download raw JSONL data for cobber meaning in English (4.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.