From Middle English cotoun, from Anglo-Norman cotun, Old French coton, from (Genoese) Old Italian cotone, from Arabic قُطُن (quṭun), from Hebrew כֻּתֹּנֶת (kuttṓnĕṯ).
Meanings
(not-comparable) Made of cotton.
Translations (33)
ru хлопча́тый (made of cotton) · de Baumwoll- (made of cotton) · de aus Baumwolle (made of cotton) · it di cotone (made of cotton) · ru хло́пковый (made of cotton) · ga cadáis (made of cotton) · uk баво́вняний (made of cotton) · ro de bumbac (made of cotton) · cs bavlněný (made of cotton) · fi puuvillainen (made of cotton) · nl katoenen (made of cotton) · ar قطن (made of cotton) · ta பருத்தி (made of cotton) · da bomuld (made of cotton) · be баваўня́ны (made of cotton) · pt de algodão (made of cotton) · mk памучен (made of cotton) · sh pamučni (made of cotton) · ca de cotó (made of cotton) · ru хлопчатобума́жный (made of cotton) · bg паму́чен (made of cotton) · hu pamut (made of cotton) · lv kokvilnas (made of cotton) · sh памучни (made of cotton) · izh puuvillain (made of cotton) · ckb لۆکە (made of cotton) · ar قُطْنِي (made of cotton) · uk бавовня́ний (made of cotton) · es de algodón (made of cotton) · de baumwollen (made of cotton) · pl bawełniany (made of cotton) · ta பருத்தியாலான (made of cotton) · sl bombažen (made of cotton)
From Middle English cotoun, from Anglo-Norman cotun, Old French coton, from (Genoese) Old Italian cotone, from Arabic قُطُن (quṭun), from Hebrew כֻּתֹּנֶת (kuttṓnĕṯ).
Meanings
(uncountable, usually) A fibrous substance: ▸ A soft, fibrous, usually white substance consisting of fine hairs, especially the substance around the seeds of a plant of genus Gossypium.
(uncountable, usually) A fibrous substance: ▸ Any similar soft, fibrous, white substance of fine hairs, of any origin.
(uncountable, usually) A plant source: ▸ A plant of genus Gossypium, used as a source of such fiber.
K'a-shih has the most extensive cotton-growing area which amounted to 950 000 mou (6.3 million ares) in 1965. 1976, Chuen-Yan David Lai, “Developments of Cotton Cultivation in Sinkiang”, in Pacific Viewpoint, volume 17, number 2, →DOI, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2020, page 162:
(uncountable, usually) A plant source: ▸ Any plant that encases its seed in a thin fiber that is harvested and used as a fabric or cloth.
(uncountable, usually) A manufactured product of such a substance: ▸ Textiles made from the fiber harvested from a cotton plant, especially Gossypium.
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. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 2, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
(countable, usually) A manufactured product of such a substance: ▸ An item of clothing made from such textiles.
The little girls appeared, looking fresh and cool in pretty pink cottons, and we two elder ones seized the opportunity of making a more elaborate toilette than usual. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 34:
The old man wore the simplest cottons, faded from long use and countless washings. 1987 October, Galen Rowell, “Baltistan: The 20th Century Comes to Shangri-la”, in National Geographic, volume 172, number 4, page 526:
(qualifier:recreational drugs, uncountable, usually) A manufactured product of such a substance: ▸ A small piece of cotton used as a filter when drawing up a drug into a syringe.
Do not re-use needles; use fresh cottons each time. 1989 February 12, “Safer Sex and Drug Use Guidelines”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 30, page 12:
(uncountable, usually) A manufactured product of such a substance: ▸ Thread of such fiber.
(archaic, uncountable, usually) A manufactured product of such a substance: ▸ A wick of a candle.
ka ბამბა (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mk памук (fiber) · pt algodão (fabric) · gl algodón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · udi памбакӏ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mn ᠪᠥᠰ (fabric) · crh keten (fabric) · jv ꦏꦥꦱ꧀ (fiber) · mk катун (fabric) · id kapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sh па̀мук (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · dsb bałma (fiber) · ilo kapas (fiber) · cop ⲕⲟⲛⲧⲓⲟⲛ (fiber) · as তুলা (fiber) · txb kenek (fabric) · ps پنبه (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sk bavlník (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cul huepe (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bg паму́к (fabric) · sq pambuk (fabric) · yi באַוול (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ja 綿 (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · de Baumwolle (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cy bombas (fiber) · nap cuttone (fiber) · mn бөс (fabric) · zh 棉絮 (fiber) · gu રૂ (fiber) · eo kotono (fiber) · hsb bałma (fabric) · tk pagta (fiber) · km កប្បាស (fabric) · hil algodón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ga cadás (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · da bomuld (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · war gapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · vec coton (fiber) · cy cotwm (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nv naakʼaʼatʼą́hí (fabric) · lt vilnamedis (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · enm coton (fiber) · ky пахта (fiber) · zh 棉花 (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mrc hcho (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ml പരുത്തി (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ca cotó (fabric) · cop ⲕⲟⲩⲧⲱⲛ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ug پاختا (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ast algodón (fiber) · tl algudon (fiber) · fo bummull (fiber) · enm coton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bn তুলা (fabric) · lo ຝ້າຍ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ur کَپاس (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ota پاموق آغاجی (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · rm mangola (fiber) · eo katuno (fabric) · nn bomull (fabric) · lv kokvilna (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nup lulu (fiber) · ur کَپاس (fabric) · inh боамби (fiber) · bn কার্পাস (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sv bomull (fiber) · be баво́ўна (fiber) · tly pambə (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · he כותנה (fabric) · sl bombaž (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · za faiq (fiber) · tt мамык (fabric) · lt medvilnė (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · lld bambesc (fiber) · grc ἐριόξυλον (fiber) · pa ਕਪਾਹ (fiber) · ko 목화 (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · kk ماقتا (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cho pokpo (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ml പഞ്ഞി (fiber) · hi सूती (fabric) · id katun (fabric) · ru хлопчатая бумага (fiber) · gd cotan (fiber) · pcc waais (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · kw koton (fiber) · th ฝ้าย (fiber) · vi bông (fabric) · ta பருத்தி (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · crh pamuq (fiber) · lij cutùn (fiber) · it cotone (fiber) · km កប្បាស (fiber) · ja 綿生地 (fabric) · mn ᠬᠥᠪᠦᠩ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sh pàmuk (fiber) · krl pumpuli (fiber) · vec bombàs (fiber) · rm mangola (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · yi באַוול (fabric) · vot puuvillõ (fiber) · pra 𑀧𑁄𑀢𑁆𑀢 (fabric) · tsg gapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bm kɔɔrimugu (fiber) · ca cotó (fiber) · tr pamuk (fabric) · fi puuvilla (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nb bomullsplante (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · wo wëtéen (fiber) · hi तूल (fiber) · tg пунба (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · gv cadee (fiber) · pms cotón (fiber) · hu pamut (fabric) · km កាប៌ាស (fabric) · uk ва́та (fiber) · et puuvill (fiber) · th ผ้าฝ้าย (fabric) · ur کَپاس (fiber) · sa कर्पास (fiber) · mnc ᡴᡠᠪᡠᠨ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · pi kappāsa (fabric) · lad amerikana (fabric) · xcl բամբակ (fiber) · th ต้นฝ้าย (fiber) · be баво́ўна (fabric) · ur پَنْبَہ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ro bumbac (fiber) · chr ᎤᏥᎸᎢ (fiber) · dz སྤྲིན་བལ (fabric) · bn কার্পাস (fabric) · my ဗိုင်း (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sq pambuk (fiber) · ovd buomull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · gu કપાસ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fa پِمِّه (fabric) · el βαμβάκι (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · te ప్రత్తి (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · zh 棉 (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cop ⲕⲟⲛⲧⲓⲟⲛ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · lv kokvilna (fabric) · oc coton (fiber) · ccc kijsheti (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · uk баво́вна (fiber) · az pambıq (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fi pumpuli (fiber) · grc βάμβαξ (fabric) · ar قطن (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · is bómull (fiber) · rm bambesch (fiber) · wal puuttuwa (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mt qoton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nv ndikʼąʼ (fabric) · sh па̀мук (fabric) · frr buumol (fiber) · ha audùgā (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · hy բամբակենի (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fa پَخْتِه (fabric) · lb Kotteng (fiber) · fa پِمِّه (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fa پَنْبِه (fiber) · glk پنبه (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · dv ކަފަ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · alt кӧбӧҥ (fabric) · pl bawełna (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · an cotón (fiber) · mi kātene (fiber) · cs bavlna (fabric) · zle-ort бавелна (fiber) · et puuvill (fabric) · gd cotan (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · el βαμβάκι (fabric) · mn хөвөн (fabric) · zza peme (diq) (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · io kotono (fiber) · bn তুলা (fiber) · sh pàmuk (fabric) · pl wata (fiber) · pl bawełna (fabric) · la linum xylinum (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · scn cuttuninu (fabric) · is baðmull (fabric) · izh puuvilla (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ms kapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bm kɔɔri (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mh kotin (fabric) · hi रूई (fiber) · mnw တောဝ် (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · or କପା (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · enm coton (fabric) · nb bomull (fabric) · de Baumwolle (fabric) · zu ukotini (fabric) · kmr pembo (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · hi कपास (fabric) · ota قطن (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · za faiq (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fa پَخْتِه (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cho ponola (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nn bomullsplante (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tk pagta (fabric) · ne कपास (fiber) · as কপাহ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mk бубаќ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ckb لۆکە (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ota پنبه (fiber) · hu gyapot (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · rm pingoula (fiber) · ms کاڤس (fiber) · pdt Boomwoll (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · alt пахта (fabric) · cy cotwm (fabric) · jje 소게 (fiber) · grc βάμβαξ (fiber) · ko 목화 (fabric) · zh 棉布 (fabric) · ba мамыҡ (fiber) · axm բամբակ (fiber) · gug mandyju (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · qu utku (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ru ва́та (fiber) · mk памук (fabric) · br koton (fiber) · os бӕмпӕг (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tet algodaun (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · el βαμβάκι (fiber) · yi וואַטע (fiber) · grc γοσσύπιον (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ta பருத்தி (fabric) · gug mandyju (fiber) · mrc hcho (fiber) · mn хөвөн (fiber) · id katun (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · eo kotonujo (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cho ponola (fiber) · ru хлопча́тник (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · oc coton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ckb لۆکە (fabric) · bn তুলো (fiber) · cim pómolla (fiber) · kk мақта (fabric) · vec bombàxo (fiber) · ka ბამბა (fabric) · es algodón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · an alcotón (fiber) · fo bummull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · gl algodón (fabric) · it bambagia (fiber) · ota قطن (fiber) · kmr loke (fabric) · cim bombaas (fiber) · it cotone (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · io kotono (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · id katun (fiber) · da bomuld (fiber) · hy բամբակ (fiber) · fro cotoun (fiber) · ood toki (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ms kapas (fiber) · ja 木綿 (fabric) · ru хло́пок (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tet kabas (fiber) · mr कापूस (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mzn پمه (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · co cutòne (fiber) · hi कपास (fiber) · pt algodão (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · cv мамӑк (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ota پاموق (fiber) · cy cotwm (fiber) · ko 면 (fabric) · tr pamuk (fiber) · ka ბამბა (fiber) · la carbasus (fabric) · an cotón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · zle-ort баво́лна (fiber) · km កប្បាស (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mhn bombasch (fiber) · mh kotin (fiber) · alt мамык (fabric) · fa پَنْبِه (fabric) · nb bomull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · moa klɔ́ɛn (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mzs algudám (fiber) · zh 棉紗 /棉纱 (fiber) · et puuvill (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · lb Kotteng (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · vro puuvill (fiber) · mt tajjar (fiber) · ru хлопчатобума́жная ткань (fabric) · de Bàuimwulla (fiber) · nv ndikʼąʼ (fiber) · be баво́ўнік (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mn ᠬᠥᠪᠦᠩ (fiber) · fy katoen (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mk памук (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bcl algodón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · da bomuld (fabric) · alt мамук (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · yo òwú (fiber) · lv kokvilna (fiber) · tl algudon (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · as কপাহ (fiber) · nl katoen (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · is baðmull (fiber) · ko 면포 (fabric) · an alcotón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sq pambuk (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sw pamba (fiber) · pl bawełnica (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sh па̀мук (fiber) · scn cuttuni (fiber) · zh 棉 (fabric) · ktb fuutta (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · pdt Boomwoll (fiber) · is baðmull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · my ပိတ် (fabric) · liv būomvīla (fiber) · es algodón (fabric) · ja コットン (fabric) · izh puuvilla (fabric) · tt мамык (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · shn ၵုၺ် (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mh kotin (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · os бӕмбӕг (fiber) · kl annoraassiassat (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · udi памбакӏ (fiber) · he כותנה (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sa कर्पास (fabric) · lo ຝ້າຍ (fabric) · tt мамык (fiber) · mhn pa'mboll (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · jv kapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sh pàmuk (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · kk мақта (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · new कपाय् (fiber) · hsb bałma (fiber) · fy katoen (fiber) · ru хло́пок (fiber) · pua xurhata (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · am ጥጥ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ja コットン (fiber) · zza peme (diq) (fabric) · tg пахта (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ga cadás (fabric) · ug پاختا (fiber) · fi puuvilla (fabric) · ist guton (fiber) · hy բամբակ (fabric) · ar قطن (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · gl algodón (fiber) · ug پاختا (fabric) · vi bông (fiber) · th ฝ้าย (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ps پنبه (fabric) · az pambıq (fiber) · ro bumbac (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tr pamuk (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ist guton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nv ndikʼąʼ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · vep puvill (fiber) · sa कर्पास (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · hu pamut (fiber) · be ва́та (fiber) · sid fuutta (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · yue 棉絮 (fiber) · zh 棉布 (fiber) · ky пахта (fabric) · sw pamba (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sk bavlna (fabric) · grc γοσσύπιον (fiber) · cnk bälaw (fiber) · az pambıq (fabric) · la xylinum (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nl katoen (fiber) · mch wadeku (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · kmr pembo (fabric) · pt algodão (fiber) · scn cuttuni (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · hi कपास (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · uz paxta (fiber) · he כֻּתְנָה (fabric) · nds Kattuun (fiber) · rup bumbac (fiber) · ba мамыҡ (fabric) · tyz bông (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ood toki (fiber) · new कपाय् (fabric) · ky пахта (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · hi गुड (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ka ბამბის მცენარე (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · atv хӧвӧн (fabric) · jv kapas (fiber) · ne कपास (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ca cotó (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · osp algodon (fiber) · aho 𑜉𑜃𑜫 (fabric) · la xylon (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · pdc Baawoll (fiber) · mhn pa'mel (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ko 코튼 (fabric) · ko 면 (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · uk баво́вна (fabric) · yo òwú (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nup cigbàn lulu (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fi puuvilla (fiber) · ro bumbac (fabric) · ko 면화 (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nn bomull (fiber) · pl bawełna (fiber) · hi पम्बा (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · la gossypium (fiber) · grc βάμβαξ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ta பஞ்சு (fiber) · nci ichcatl (fiber) · ta உத்தரி (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bol lolo (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · bo སྤྲིན་བལ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ceb algodon (fiber) · fi pumpulikangas (fabric) · is bómull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · eu kotoin (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fa پَنْبِه (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · fr coton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · kmr pembû (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · hsb bałma (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · yi באַוול (fiber) · tet kabas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · pra पोत्त (fabric) · zza peme (diq) (fiber) · ko 솜 면 (fiber) · kxu ପର୍ତି (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · xh umqhaphu (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nup lulu (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tk pagta (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · uk баво́вник (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · he כֻּתְנָה (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · es algodón (fiber) · cs bavlník (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ast algodón (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ce бамба (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nds Kattuun (fabric) · tet algodaun (fiber) · moa klwɛ́ɛn (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tg пахта (fabric) · pa ਫੰਬਾ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ar قطن (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · de Baumwolle (fiber) · ja 綿糸 (fiber) · gmw-cfr Boomwoll (fiber) · sv bomull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · xto kanak (fabric) · mk бубаќ (fabric) · tg пахта (fiber) · ttt pəmbə (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ta கொட்டை (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ceb gapas (fiber) · kk мақта (fiber) · ht koton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · kxv ପର୍ତି (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ta பஞ்சு (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · tl bulak (fiber) · bcl gapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · eu algodoi (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nb bomull (fiber) · tyz bông (fiber) · it cotone (fabric) · sl bombaž (fabric) · mnc ᡴᡠᠪᡠ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · th ฝ้าย (fabric) · nds Boomwull (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ru хло́пок (fabric) · pi kappāsa (fiber) · bg паму́к (fiber) · cy bwmbas (fiber) · sk bavlna (fiber) · te పత్తి (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · ga cadás (fiber) · ar قُطُن (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · os бӕмбӕг (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · rhg gútum (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · nl katoenplant (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · esu uataq (fabric) · frr buumol (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · sl bombaž (fiber) · mk бубаќ (fiber) · id kapuk (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · izh puuvilla (fiber) · olo puuvillu (fiber) · ilo kapas (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · mr कापूस (fiber) · mn хөвөн (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · vec coton (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · alt кӧбӧҥ (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · pap katuna (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · my ကော်တွန် (fabric) · or କପା (fiber) · bg паму́к (any plant yielding fiber like that of Gossypium) · egl cutòṅ (fiber) · vls katoen (fiber)
From Middle English cotoun, from Anglo-Norman cotun, Old French coton, from (Genoese) Old Italian cotone, from Arabic قُطُن (quṭun), from Hebrew כֻּתֹּנֶת (kuttṓnĕṯ).
Meanings
(transitive) To provide with cotton.
Goddamned fools had cottoned the land, and just worked it to death, destroying the topsoil, so it blew away, and then, when the rains came, gullied it, so that it wasn't worth a damn for anything. 1986, W. E. B. Griffin, The Majors, →ISBN, page 52:
Eyes closed, ears cottoned, the mind produces its own interior messages. 1990, Seymour W. Itzkoff, The Making of the Civilized Mind, page 69:
(transitive) To provide with cotton. ▸ To supply with a cotton wick.
The method of using the machine is as follows: — After having made the connection between the hot and cold water pipes and the machine at K, and having connected the outlet pipe with a drain, the machine is ready for cottoning. 1880, Edward Spon, Francis N. Spon, George Guillaume André, Spons' Encyclopædia of the Industrial Arts, Manufactures, and Commercial products:
Supposing a frame, or set of moulds, as represented at B, to have wicks carried through each mould, or regularly cottoned, and each wick to be held accurately in the centre of the mould by means of the series of nippers shown at fig. 8, the moulds are first taken to the position shown at B 1, figs. 2, 3, and 4, where they are supported in a perpendicular position on the small straight edges or railway d, d, as seen at fig. 3. 1838, William Newton, The London Journal of Arts and Sciences, and Repertory of Patent Inventions, page 8:
Each machine has on average 200 moulds, each mould contains 18 bobbins, and each bobbin, when first cottoned, 60 yards of wick, so that supposing all the frames of our seven machines to be fresh cottoned at the same time, we should have above 800 miles of wick in work. 1852, George Fergusson Wilson, On the stearic candle manufacture, page 24:
(transitive) To provide with cotton. ▸ To fill with a wad of cotton.
Features of the CM/CCI (Continuous Motion, Close-Coupled Integrated) packaging line segment include control of containers from the bottle feeder through the filling/ cottoning operations and space savings in packaging line lengths. 1975, Food Engineering - Volume 47, page 94:
Although cottoning is performed by hand, the hand-capping operation is assisted by a mechanical friction wheel, driven through a flexible cable. 1962, Time and Motion Study - Volume 11, page 16:
First comes bottling, which is done both by machine and by hand. This is followed by cottoning and capping. 1953, Manufacturing Series - Issues 211-224, page 33:
(transitive) To provide with cotton. ▸ To wrap with a protective layer of cotton fabric.
The National Fruit Trials at Brogdale will this year be working in conjunction with Worplesden on cottoning cherry orchards as a method of reducing losses, although it can never entirely prevent damage. 1976, Horticulture Industry, page 142:
I went round and quietly cottoned all the nine holes, and next moring I found all the cottons intact. 1953 June 25, F. Howard Lancum, “More Nights at a Badgers' Sett”, in Country Life, volume 113, page 2064:
When a tree is to be cottoned the ends from the cops are brought together and tied in a rough knot, which is hitched to a twig. Then, with the tube held upright, the operator walks round the tree as many times as may be necessary to cover it with lines of cotton, raising the metal tube about three feet after each round. 1937, Chambers's Journal, page 399:
I planted out over 600 polyanthus plants, and almost without exception the sparrows had the new buds off — after I had both cottoned and sprayed with Jeyes. They also destroyed two rows of brussels sprouts seedlings — again after cottoning and spraying. 1965, Amateur Gardening - Volume 82, page 199:
(transitive) To provide with cotton. ▸ To cover walls with fabric.
Mr. Taylor said he reckoned the cost of cottoning at twelve and one-half cents per yard. 1912, National Painters Magazine - Volume 39, page 657:
Robinson, W., Whitehorse: cottoning and papering 10 rooms, hall and staircase, at sergeant's mess, $206; 1906, Sessional Papers - Volume 40, Issue 1, Part 2, page R-51:
The rooms downstairs were cottoned, the doors re-hung, and a counter put in the record office. 1900, Sessional Papers (British Columbia), page 389:
(qualifier:tar and cotton, transitive) To provide with cotton. ▸ To cover with cotton bolls over a layer of tar (analogous to tar and feather )
The Southerners caught him ; and, as a natural consequence of his capture, he was, after a little preliminary cowhiding and railriding, tarred and cottoned; the soft and downy substance growing in the pod of the cotton plant being in the sunny South the substitute for 'the penal plumes' —as Sydney Smith in humorous euphuism called the feathers wwibh, in combination with a coating of pitch, made up the ignominious livery of an offender whom the Americans delight to dishonour. 1874, Belgravia - Volume 22, page 311:
Tarring and feathering in the Northern States of America, or tarring and cottoning in the South (the last a freak frequently played with Abolitionists prior to the Great Civil War), could have been as nothing, looked upon as a frolic, compared with the racy humours of the Golden House. 1880, George Augustus Sala, Paris Herself Again in 1878-9 - Volume 1, page 248:
Tar and cotton him," said a student from the college, more facetiously, perhaps, more mercifully inclined. " Think, fellows, what a pretty bird he will be, with cotton for feathers ; — so downy." 1864, Honor: Or The Slave-dealer's Daughter, page 151:
(transitive) To make or become cottonlike. ▸ To raise a nap, providing with a soft, cottony texture.
The final finishing processes—cottoning and rowing, or raising the nap with teasels and shearing it smooth again—were performed after the Drapers had carried the cloth to Shrewsbury. 1953, Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, The Shrewsbury drapers and the Welsh wool trade in the XVI and XVII centuries:
The finishing operations consisted of shearing the nap from the cloth, and frizzing, or cottoning, the surface, by pressing with hot irons. 1959, Historical Journal - Volume 7, page 42:
When the cloth is thus shorn on one side, it is for the most part cottoned on the other side, which they call the wrong side ; but frizes are cottoned on the " right side", for cottoning makes them such. 1968, Thomas Birch, The History of the Royal Society of London for Improving of Natural Knowledge from Its First Rise:
The 'cotton' was, in fact, a woollen fabric, one whose nap had been teased upwards or 'cottoned'. 2015, Catherine Hall, Nicholas Draper, Keith McClelland, Emancipation and the Remaking of the British Imperial World, →ISBN:
Webs made from them had to be frizzed or cottoned. 1985, Eric Kerridge, Textile Manufactures in Early Modern England, →ISBN, page 19:
(transitive) To make or become cottonlike. ▸ To develop a porous, cottony texture.
However, this variety exhibited cottoning (breaking down of the central portion of the root) starting on the 14th up to the 20th day of storage. 2001, Quality Assurance in Marketing of Fresh Horticultural Produce:
Used at medium to thin consistency to avoid stringing or cottoning and to assure proper spreading characteristics. 1971, Modern Packaging Encyclopedia, page 112:
At this moment he saw the plate cottoning, as he expressed it, to his young friend, Charles Freeland, who sat in the pew at his right. He watched to see what the young merchant would give ; and to his amazement, he saw the young man put in a fifty dollar note! 1854, The Churchman's Monthly Magazine - Volume 1, page 148:
(transitive) To make or become cottonlike. ▸ To give the appearance of being dotted with cotton balls.
Choppy waves cottoned the bay. 1998, George P. Morrill, The Blake Streak: A Tale of War, Mutiny and Love, →ISBN, page 137:
A fair piece ahead, in answering signal cottoned the sky in rhythmic puffs. 1970, Western Writers of America, Spurs West, page 111:
And he quickly changed the subject as the first of the afternoon clouds cottoned the sky and laid shadows across Marlin Hardwick's rustling, winding, scuttling and bird-calling yard. 2000, Elizabeth Stead, The Fishcastle, page 124:
(transitive) To make or become cottonlike. ▸ To enshroud with a layer of whiteness.
Fog cottoned the steep, wooded slopes on each side of the lake, and the air was chill and penetrating. 1937, Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, The Improvement Era - Volume 40, page 186:
There was no evidence by Thursday of the snowfall that had thickly cottoned the Taunton area; the town and state plows had scraped the roads clean, and the only sight of snow remaining lay in the drifts and patches on the sheltered, wooded slopes northward. 1956, Edwin Gilbert, Native Stone, page 316:
She got out and began to wade through the blanket of powder which cottoned the ground. 2018, Sara Saint James, Trust the Night:
A mist cottoned the hills inland. 2010, Ali Shaw, The Girl with Glass Feet, →ISBN:
Fog cottoned the roads under a sky like rusted tin. 2009, Brian Ray, Through the Pale Door: A Novel, page 42:
To protect from harsh stimuli, coddle, or muffle.
Indeed, pragmatism and technicism cottoned the American soul from some of the worst pains of an unmysterious world, although they would later be poor guardians against its encroachment. 1982, Daedalus, page 138:
The violins were muted, the hands were gloved, carpets were unrolled forever under the feet, and the gardens cottoned the sound from the world. 1976, John Tytell, Harold Jaffe, Affinities: A Short Story Anthology, →ISBN:
Jeanne's house, like Usher's, is a void of great silence and immobility and the "somnambulistic gardens" surrounding her house like Usher's tarn "cottoned the sound from the world." 1971, Under the Sign of Pisces - Volumes 2-4, page 9:
In the case of the whippingboys, however, the closeness of the relationship was often given a somewhat negative interpretation by the teachers — the parents were over-anxious, 'cottoned' the boy, were overprotective. 1978, Robert D. Hare, Daisy Schalling, Psychopathic Behaviour: Approaches to Research, page 324:
To rub or burnish with cotton.
The solution has been to unplug the dots — open up the shadow areas — by re-etching, cottoning, and other handwork. 1969, Book Production Industry - Volume 6; Volume 45, page 78:
It was inclined to be scummy in developing, and the consequent vigorous 'cottoning' or rubbing with a swab of absorbent cotton while in the developing sink, which was necessary to open it up, often caused injury to the image. 1934, The Penrose Annual: Review of the Graphic Arts:
To oppress one's own workmen, and provide for the workmen of a neighbor — to skin those in charge of one's own interests while cottoning and oiling the residuary product of another's skinnery — that is not very good benevolence, nor very good sense, but it serves in place of both. 1912, Ambrose Bierce, The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, page 267:
First use appears c. the 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.
First use appears c. the 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.
Meanings
To get on with someone or something; to have a good relationship with someone.
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. 2009 March 21, Farhad Manjoo, “A Conference That Starts on Time and Stays on Schedule”, in The New York Times:
I want to tell you the Dukes, both mother and son, are cottoning to her fast enough. 1873, Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald, “Notes of Gold?”, in All the Year Round, page 286:
What meanes this? doth he dote so much of this strange harlot indeed? now I perceiue how this geare cottens. 1629, Richard Bernard, “Andria”, in Terence in English, page 42: