Cockerel / Rooster

[Blondiie]

Hey Everyone,

I would like to know what is the difference between a cockerel and a rooster ? My English teacher gave me the two words, telling me it means "coq" in French. I asked him the difference but I didn't understand what he explained to me.

I think a cockerel is the male of the barnyard ("mâle de la basse-cour" in french) and the rooster is the chicken we eat ("poulet que l'on mange" in french), but I'm not sure.

Thank you for any response.

Bye

 

[DrD]

Hello Blondiie and welcome to the forum,

The answer to your question is relatively simple. Rooster is American English and cockerel is British English. So if you want to say 'coq' and you are speaking to an American, then say rooster and if you are speaking to a British person, then say cockerel.

I should point out that strictly speaking a cockerel is a young cock, cock being the correct word in BE for coq, but cock is also a slang word for penis, so we tend to use cockerel for birds of any age to avoid misunderstandings

 

[Blondiie]

Dear DrD,

Thank you very much for your answer
That's easy to understand and most complete than what my teacher said to me