O. E. D. 'Cock' 20: The Limits of Lexicography of Slang

Author / Editor
Baird, Lorrayne Y.

Title
O. E. D. 'Cock' 20: The Limits of Lexicography of Slang

Published
Maledicta 5 (1981): 213-26.

Description
The Host's use of "tredefowel" in MkT and NPE suggests that he may have been aware of "cock" as an obscenity (as well as a symbol for priest), a meaning supported by evidence from other languages, literature, and iconography.

Chaucer Subjects
Monk and His Tale.
Nun's Priest and His Tale.