COB, something round, stout, tufted or like a head (possibly from Ger. Kopf, head) . The principal uses of "cob" are for a stocky, strongly-built horse, from 13 to 14 hands high, a small round loaf, a round lump of coal, in which sense "cobble" is also used, the central part of the fruiting spike of the maize plant, and a large nut of the hazel type, commonly known as the cob-nut. The fruiting spike of Indian corn is called corn on the cob.