See Also: cockroach(dictionary)
cockroach(encyclopedia)
cockroach(dictionary)
Cockroach allergy(health)
cockroach (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)

cockroach (iou)



cockroach noun. Orig. cacaroch & other vars. E17.
[Spanish cucaracha, assim. (by 19) to COCK noun1, ROACH noun4.]
An insect of the suborder Blattaria (order Dictyoptera), typically a stout-bodied scavenger resembling a beetle, with hardened forewings; esp. the large dark brown Blatta orientalis and Periplaneta americana, which infest kitchens, warehouses, etc.
German cockroach: see GERMAN adjective1.