Anciently, a fool. Fools, in great families, wore a cap with bells, on the top of which was a piece of red cloth, in the shape of a cock's comb. At present, coxcomb signifies a fop, or vain self-conceited fellow.
·noun The cap itself. II. Coxcomb ·noun The top of the head, or the head itself. III. Coxcomb ·nou...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language