The act or sound of a rooster crowing, especially at dawn; the time period when roosters crow.
From cock (rooster) + crowing (the present participle of crow, to make the characteristic loud call). This gerund form developed to describe the continuous action or the period associated with this natural phenomenon.
The Bible mentions 'cockcrowing' as a specific time marker—in the New Testament, Jesus tells Peter he will deny knowing him three times before the cock crows. This shows how universally significant the rooster's call was as a time reference in ancient societies.
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