Cockaigne

noun

Cock·​aigne kä-ˈkān 

: an imaginary land of great luxury and ease

Did you know?

The term "Cockaigne" comes from the Middle French phrase pais de cocaigne, which literally means "the land of plenty." The word was first popularized in a 13th-century French poem that is known in English as "The Land of Cockaigne." According to an early English translation of the work, in Cockaigne "the houses were made of barley sugar cakes, the streets were paved with pastry, and the shops supplied goods for nothing." Some have theorized that cocaigne derives from an earlier word related to "cake" or "cook," but its early history remains obscure.

Synonyms

• Camelot
• Eden
• Elysium
• empyrean
• fantasyland
• heaven
• lotusland
• never-never land
• New Jerusalem
• nirvana
• paradise
• promised land
• Shangri-la
• utopia
• Zion
• Sion

Examples of Cockaigne in a Sentence

many gourmets still regard Paris as a culinary Cockaigne

Recent Examples on the Web

The Cockaigne Resort in upstate New York closed in February, after getting just 35 to 37 inches of snow this past winter, according to its website. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 9 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cokaygne, from Middle French (pais de) cocaigne land of plenty

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

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