A small shellfish with a ribbed shell, found in sandy or muddy seabeds; to wrinkle or pucker, especially paper or fabric.
From Old French 'coquille' (shell), which came from Latin 'conchylium,' ultimately from Greek 'konchē' (shellfish); the wrinkle sense developed because the shell's ridges resemble wrinkles.
Cockles gave us the phrase 'warm the cockles of your heart'—supposedly because medieval people thought the heart was shell-shaped or because cockles were a cheap, comforting food for the poor, making them symbolize simple human warmth.
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