cosset
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
-
a lamb brought up without its dam; pet lamb.
-
any pet.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- uncosseted adjective
Etymology
Origin of cosset
First recorded in 1570–80; Middle English; derivative verb use of the noun cosset “a lamb raised as a pet”; of uncertain etymology, but possibly Middle English cot-sēte “cottage dweller, cottager,” from Old English cot- sǣta
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Like the best of children’s literature, then and now, “Treasure Island” looks to lure its young readers into the adult world, not to cosset them from it.
From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2020
She wonders if there was something in Farquharson, by contrast, that brought out “the maternal in women, our tendency to cosset, to infantilise.”
From The New Yorker • Dec. 4, 2016
Supporters of scooters say they offer something extremely valuable - freedom, countering the perceived tendency of many risk-averse parents to cosset their children indoors.
From BBC • Jan. 21, 2015
It is clear from the excellent condition of all our homes that we cosset them.
From The Guardian • May 25, 2012
Years before his father had given him a cosset lamb, and now he was the owner of a dozen sheep.
From Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times 1769 - 1776 A Historical Romance by Coffin, Charles Carleton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
