[f. prec. + -NESS.] Confident certainty; generally with the implication of being over-sure.
1871. Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, 14 Aug., 2/4. Now cocksureness is not my forte.
1878. Fraser’s Mag., XVIII. Oct., 510/2. The fluency and the ‘cock-sure-ness’ which are rarely found in perfection in any one but an Irish Protestant.
1882. H. Quilter, in Contemp. Rev., Feb., 279. The majority of people admire the cocksureness of Macaulay more than the pregnant hints of Carlyle.
1889. Spectator, 28 Sept., 386/1. When so many statesmen seem to despair of their own powers, a little cocksureness is infinitely refreshing.
