= to strike.
The word is originally a provincialism, but is used in vulgar language also.
cockey
»Yer won’t tell?—Say, ‘I swear’.»
»I swear-»
»Good-bye, cockey.» (P. Kelver I. 75. 30.)
Dialogue between two »street Arabs».
The term has probably nothing to do with cock-eye (squinting eye), but is a vulgar mode of address and diminutive of cock (cf. sonny, matey, slavey, chummy etc.), as in »a fine old cock», where the word indicates a certain superiority.
cop, copper
»It’s only the fools as gets copped.» (T. T. T. 162. 15.)