cough

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From a Germanic imitative base *kox- (unattested in Old English, but probably present as *cohhian; compare cohhetan (shout)). Cognate with Dutch kuchen (cough), German keuchen (pant).

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Verb

cough (third-person singular simple present coughs, present participle coughing, simple past and past participle coughed)

  1. To push air from the lungs in a quick, noisy explosion.
    I breathed in a load of smoke by mistake, and started to cough.
    • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XI:
      I drew a deep breath, and a moment later wished I hadn't, because I drew it while drinking the remains of my gin and tonic. “Does Kipper know of this?“ I said, when I had finished coughing.
  2. To make a noise like a cough
    The engine coughed and sputtered.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

cough (plural coughs)

Examples
(file)
  1. A sudden, usually noisy expulsion of air from the lungs, often involuntary.
    Behind me, I heard a distinct, dry cough.
  2. A condition that causes one to cough; a tendency to cough.
    Sorry, I can't come to work today – I've got a nasty cough.

[edit] Hyponyms

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
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