cob¹ / käb/ • n. 1. (also corn·cob) the central, cylindrical, woody part of the corn ear to which the grains, or kernels, are attached. 2. (also cob·nut) a hazelnut or filbert, esp. one of a large variety. ∎  a hazel or filbert bush. 3. a powerfully built, short-legged horse. 4. a male swan. 5. Brit. a roundish lump of coal.cob² • n. Brit. a mixture of compressed clay and straw used, esp. in former times, for building walls: [as adj.] cob and thatch cottages.

cob. Composition containing clay, gravel, sand, straw, and water, thoroughly mixed until it is consistent and plastic, and applied in layers (without formwork) to make walls, then finished with a roof and several coats of lime-wash. Commonly found in south-west England, it offered a cheap way of building, and, provided it was protected from the rain, was stable. Compare adobe or pisé-de-terre.

cob in many applications which can be mostly grouped under the headings ‘head’ and ‘roundish object, round clump’, among the earliest being ‘great man, leader’ (XV), ‘male swan’ (XVI), cob-nut (XVI); loaf with a round head (XVII); the application to a stout short-legged horse (XIX) has been referred to dial. cobs testicles. of obscure orig.; in AL. cobus cob-loaf (XIII); cf. WFlem. kobbe tuft of feathers, head of hair, dome of the head, WFris, kobbe drop.

COB • abbr. close of business: you have until COB today to show us why you should not be disconnected.

Cob

a bunch of hair; a stack of grain or hay; a rounded heap or mass; a small heap of anything.

Examples: cob of grain; of hair [a bunch or chignon]; of hay, 1616; of jelly, 1876.