/ · 1894 Brewer’s · C · Cock the Ears (To)
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To prick up the ears, or turn them as a horse does when he listens to a strange sound. Here “cock” means to turn, and seems to be connected with the Greek κνκλoζ, a circle, and the verb κνκλóω.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.