(seaport) Seaport in Kerala state, India, on the Malabar coast; It is a fishing port, naval training base, and an industrial center with oil refineries; ropes and clothing are also manufactured here. It exports coir, copra, tea, and spices. Vasco da Gama established a Portuguese factory at Cochin 1502, and St Francis Xavier made it a missionary center 1530. The Dutch held Cochin from 1663 to 1795, when it was taken by the English.(region) Present-day region and former princely state lying W of the Anamalai hills in S India. It was part of Travancore-Cochin from 1949 until merged into Kerala 1956.

Asian breed of large fowl with dense plumage and feathered legs; SYN. cochin china.