cootie
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
1917, from British army slang during World War I, probably from Malay kutu (“flea, louse”).
Pronunciation [edit]
/'kuːti/
Noun [edit]
cootie (plural cooties)
- (rare) A nest-building female American Coot (counterpart to Cooter).
- (North America, colloquial) A louse.
- (North America, colloquial, childish, usually plural) Any germ or contaminant, real or imagined, especially from the opposite gender (for pre-pubescent children).
- I’m not drinking from his glass until I wash the cooties off it.
Hyponyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
louse — see louse
slang: germs or contaminants
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