coot

[ koot ]

/ kut /

noun

any aquatic bird of the genus Fulica, as F. americana, of North America, and F. atra, of the Old World, characterized by lobate toes and short wings and tail.

any of various other swimming or diving birds, especially the scoters.

Informal. a foolish or crotchety person, especially one who is old.

Nearby words

Origin of coot

1250–1300; Middle English cote; cognate with Dutch koet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for coot

Think sez I, I hope to gracious I haint made a coot of myself, and bid up too high.
Highlife in New York: a series of letters to Mr. Zephariah Slick,|Ann S. Stephens
That is a coot defending hearth and home against the despoiler; and bravely is that defence maintained.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman
It was thou as clomb into wucks through the window, and coot all the bands, and left thee knife behind to bear witness again thee.
The Parson O' Dumford|George Manville Fenn
That Paderewski, during the piano-playing days, wore a wig, and was actually as bald as a coot.
The American Credo|George Jean Nathan

In places where it is abundant the purple swamp-hen is very sociable, and keeps much more to cover than does the coot.
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for coot

coot

/ (kuːt) /

noun

any aquatic bird of the genus Fulica, esp F. atra of Europe and Asia, having lobed toes, dark plumage, and a white bill with a frontal shield: family Rallidae (rails, crakes, etc)

a foolish person, esp an old man (often in the phrase old coot)

Word Origin for coot

C14: probably from Low German; compare Dutch koet

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for coot

coot

c.1300, cote, used for various water fowl (now limited to Fulica atra and, in North America, F. americana), of uncertain origin. Cf. Dutch meercoet "lake coot." Meaning "silly person, fool" is attested from 1766.