cootie

¹

Or coot·y

[koo-tee]

noun

Informal.

plural

cooties 

1. a louse, especially one affecting humans, as the body louse, head louse, or pubic louse.

2. a child's term for an imaginary germ or disease that one can catch by touching a person who is disliked or socially avoided.

   The girls at camp thought the boys had cooties.

cootie

²

Or coot·y

[koo-tee]

noun

Scot.

1. a wooden container, especially a wooden bowl, for storing or serving food or drink.

cootie

/ ˈkuːtɪ /

noun

1. Also called (NZ): kutu. a slang name for the body louse See louse

Word History and Origins

Origin of cootie¹

First recorded in 1910–15; of disputed origin; perhaps from Malay kutu “louse” (akin to Chamorro hutu, Hawaiian 'uku, Maori kutu, Tagalog kuto ), with final syllable conformed to -ie; perhaps an elaboration of obsolete coot “louse,” after coot ( def. ) (compare as lousy as a coot “infested with lice”)

Origin of cootie²

First recorded in 1775–85; variant of Scots cood, of uncertain origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of cootie¹

C20: perhaps from Malay or Māori kutu louse

Example Sentences

On its surface, it was mostly a bunch of young gamers having a year-long tantrum because they didn't want women getting girl cooties on their video games.

Read more on Salon

So instead, he's leaning hard into the "girl cooties" argument of CFPB, tweeting invective at Warren and calling her "Senator Karen," in case the sexist implications weren't blunt enough.

Read more on Salon

They walked past me as if I had cooties, or stared with disdain from inside the restaurant like I was a chupacabra.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

There were even ads for the documentary of her "Eras" tour this summer, rubbing girl cooties all over the NFL, at least in right wing eyes.

Read more on Salon

The racist commentary concerns me more than the “boys have cooties” kind of comments.

Read more on Washington Post

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