cotton
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English [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
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 algodón, and Portuguese algodão.[1]
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
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.
Derived terms [edit]
- cotton candy
- cottongrass
- cotton pad
- cotton picker
- cottonseed
- cotton stripper
- cotton wool
- cotton gin
- cotton card
- cotton blend
Translations [edit]
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Adjective [edit]
cotton (not comparable)
- Made of cotton.
Translations [edit]
Etymology 2 [edit]
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]
Verb [edit]
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:
Translations [edit]
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Usage notes [edit]
Generally used with prepositions on, to; see cotton on, cotton to.
Derived terms [edit]
References [edit]
- 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