cony

Meaning

1. A rabbit, especially the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (formerly known as Lepus cuniculus).
2. Rabbit fur.
3. Locally for other rabbit-like or hyrax-like animals, such as the Cape hyrax (das, dassie) or the pika (Ochotona princeps, formerly Lagomys princeps).
4. Locally for other rabbit-like or hyrax-like animals, such as the Cape hyrax (das, dassie) or the pika (Ochotona princeps, formerly Lagomys princeps).
5. (obsolete) A simpleton; one who may be taken in by a cony-catcher.
6. An edible West Indian fish, a grouper given in different sources as: Epinephelus apua, the hind of Bermuda; nigger-fish, Epinephelus punctatus; Cephalopholis fulva.
7. Several species of tropical west Atlantic groupers of family Epinephelidae, such as the mutton hamlet, graysby, Cuban coney, and rooster hind.
8. The burbot.
9. (obsolete) A woman; a sweetheart.

Concepts

cony

rabbit

coney

bunny

hare

mouse hare

pika

rock rabbit

das

dassie

hyrax

the flesh of the rabbit

pawnshop

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkəʊ.ni/

Etymology

From Middle English cony, back formation from conies (plural), from Anglo-Norman conis, the plural of connil (“rabbit”), from Latin cunīculus, of unknown origin.
The original pronunciation was /ˈkʌni/ (for the spelling, compare honey and money), but the similarity to cunt (and particularly homophony with cunny) led through taboo avoidance both to the word's displacement in the main by rabbit and bunny and to the spelling-pronunciation /ˈkəʊni/ becoming standard.