cot

¹

[kot]

noun

1. a light portable bed, especially one of canvas on a folding frame.

2. British.,  a child's crib.

3. a light bedstead.

4. Nautical.,  a hammocklike bed stiffened by a suspended frame.

cot

²

[kot]

noun

1. a small house; cottage; hut.

2. a small place of shelter.

3. a sheath or protective covering, as for an injured finger or toe.

cot

³

abbreviation

Trigonometry.

1. cotangent.

cot

¹

/ kɒt /

noun

1. a child's boxlike bed, usually incorporating vertical bars

2. a collapsible or portable bed

3. a light bedstead

4. nautical a hammock-like bed with a stiff frame

cot

²

/ kɒt /

noun

1. literary,  a small cottage

2. Also called: cote. 

   1. a small shelter, esp one for pigeons, sheep, etc

   2. ( in combination )

      dovecot

3. another name for fingerstall

cot

³

/ kɒt /

abbreviation

1. cotangent

cot

⁴

/ kɒt /

verb

1. dialect,  to entangle or become entangled

cot

1. Abbreviation of cotangent

Word History and Origins

Origin of cot¹

1625–35; < Hindi khāṭ < Prakrit khaṭṭā < Sanskrit khaṭvā; akin to Tamil kattil bedstead

Origin of cot²

before 900; Middle English, Old English cot (neuter; cote ¹ ); cognate with Old Norse kot hut; akin to cubby, cove ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cot¹

C17: from Hindi khāt bedstead, from Sanskrit khátvā, of Dravidian origin; related to Tamil kattil bedstead

Origin of cot²

Old English cot; related to Old Norse kot little hut, Middle Low German cot

Example Sentences

Keira still has a cot next to her bed and another in the living room, with framed photos of Zammi on the walls, along with baby clothes and nappies.

Read more on BBC

Madame Babushkinov was furious to discover that their “hotel” was really a barracks, a single large hall with cots all in a row, and a washing-up room they would have to share.

Read more on Literature

She and Penelope had been the best of friends at Swanburne; they were assigned to the same dormitory and had even shared a cot when they were small.

Read more on Literature

The charity, which also supplies cots and Moses baskets to families, said it decided to launch the Buggies 4 Brum appeal after health visitors and midwives raised the issue.

Read more on BBC

No snaking lines of cranky customers, passengers camped out on cots or travelers carpooling in a rental car to get to their destinations like we’ve seen during major airline meltdowns.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bunk