A coxcomb is a vain man who fusses over his appearance. A preening coxcomb, that coxcomb, dressed like a coxcomb.
It is archaic and belongs to eighteenth-century comedy, where it is a stock figure. The name comes from the cock's comb worn on a jester's cap — so calling a man a coxcomb first meant calling him a fool, and the vanity came after.
1nouncoxcombA vain man who fusses over his appearance.
“The young coxcomb spent more on his waistcoats than on his rent.”
coxcomb is a vain person.
From cock's comb, the crest on a jester's cap. The word first meant a fool and then a vain man.
Middle English
cokke
English, today
coxcomb
From Middle English cokke’s comb.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA