cotton
English
(cotton)
Etymology 1
(etyl) cotoun, from (etyl) cotun, (etyl) coton, from (Genoese) (etyl) cotone, from (Egyptian) (etyl) , possibly originally from (etyl).
Cognate to Dutch katoen, German Kattun, Italian cotone, Spanish
Noun
(en-noun)
A plant that encases its seed in a thin fiber that is harvested and used as a fabric or cloth.
Gossypium , a genus of plant used as a source of cotton fiber.
(textiles) The textile made from the fiber harvested from the cotton plant.
(countable) An item of clothing made from cotton.
Derived terms
* cotton candy
* cottongrass
* cotton pad
* cotton picker
* cottonseed
* cotton stripper
* cotton wool
* cotton gin
* cotton card
* cotton blend
Adjective
(-)
Made of cotton.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
, title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=2 citation
, passage=Now that she had rested and had fed from the luncheon tray Mrs. Broome had just removed, she had reverted to her normal gaiety. She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet.}}
Etymology 2
1560s, either from (etyl) cydun, , literally “to be at one with”, or by metaphor with the textile, as cotton blended well with other textiles, notably wool in hat-making.[ ]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, [http://books.google.com/books?id=YX5BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA76&dq=cotton p. 76]
Verb
(
en verb)
To get on with someone or something; to have a good relationship with someone.
* '>citation
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Usage notes
Generally used with prepositions on, to; see cotton on, cotton to.
Derived terms
* cotton on
* cotton to
