cotton
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Cotton
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology 1
Middle English cotoun, from Anglo-Norman cotun, from Old Italian (Genoa) cotone, from Arabic (Egypt) قطن (qúţun), (Hispano-Arab) quṭūn, variants of Arabic قُطْن (quṭn), from root *qţn, possibly originally from Ancient Egyptian.
Cognate to Dutch katoen, German Kattun, Italian cotone, Spanish algodon, and Portuguese algodão.[1]
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
cotton (plural cottons)
- A plant that encases its seed in a thin fiber that is harvested and used as a fabric or cloth.
- A type of plant used as a source of cotton fiber.
- (textiles) The textile made from the fiber harvested from the cotton plant.
- An item of clothing made from cotton.
[edit] Derived terms
- cotton candy
- cotton pad
- cotton picker
- cottonseed
- cotton stripper
- cotton wool
- cotton gin
- cotton card
- cotton blend
[edit] Translations
plant
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fiber
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fabric
[edit] Adjective
cotton (not comparable)
- Made of cotton.
[edit] Translations
made of cotton
[edit] Etymology 2
1560s, either from Welsh cydun, cytun (“agree, coincide”) (cyduno, cytuno), from cyd, cyt + un (“one”), literally “to be at one with”, or by metaphor with the textile, as cotton blended well with other textiles, notably wool in hat-making.[1][2][3]
[edit] Verb
cotton (third-person singular simple present cottons, present participle cottoning, simple past and past participle cottoned)
- To get on with someone or something; to have a good relationship with someone.
- 1873, All the Year Round[1], page 286:
- I want to tell you the Dukes, both mother and son, are cottoning to her fast enough
- 2009 March 21, Farhad Manjoo, “A Conference That Starts on Time and Stays on Schedule”, The New York Times:
- The conference — Mr. Allen’s first gathering, and, depending on the economic outlook, maybe his last — brought together entrepreneurs, techies, writers and even some middle managers who’ve cottoned on to his ideas.
- 1873, All the Year Round[1], page 286:
[edit] Translations
get on with — see get on with
have a good relationship
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[edit] Usage notes
Generally used with prepositions on, to; see cotton on, cotton to.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “cotton” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
- ^ Take Our Word For It: Issue 178, page 2
- ^ Folk-etymology: a dictionary of verbal corruptions or words perverted in form or meaning, by false derivation or mistaken analogy, Abram Smythe Palmer, G. Bell and Sons, 1882, p. 76
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old Italian
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English nouns
- en:Textiles
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms derived from Welsh
- English verbs
- English terms with multiple etymologies
