noun
a light portable bed, especially one of canvas on a folding frame.
British. a child's crib.
a light bedstead.
Nautical. a hammocklike bed stiffened by a suspended frame.
Origin of cot
11625–35; < Hindi khāṭ < Prakrit khaṭṭā < Sanskrit khaṭvā; akin to Tamil kattil bedstead
noun
a small house; cottage; hut.
a small place of shelter.
a sheath or protective covering, as for an injured finger or toe.
Origin of cot
2before 900; Middle English, Old English cot (neuter; cf.
cote1); cognate with
Old Norse kot hut; akin to
cubby,
cove1 Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cot
Contemporary Examples of cot
I stripped down to my gym shorts and stretched out on my cot.
“I was at first on a cot, and then in a succession of accommodations,” he says.
Apparently, Ryan tried bragging about how he sleeps in a cot in his office—to a nun.
Even as he sits and weeps alone on his cot, multiple personalities surround him.
The Qari spent weeks sitting on his cot reciting in a sing-song chant the entire Quran.
Historical Examples of cot
"You can sleep there," he said, pointing to a cot bed in the corner of the room.
When Nurse had gone she would lie still in her cot, waiting.
After a moment he arose, took his lantern into his tent, and there spread his find on his cot.
Kingozi retired again to his cot; but for a long time he could not get to sleep.
The cot was placed on the floor, and he continued to dictate from it.
British Dictionary definitions for cotnoun
a child's boxlike bed, usually incorporating vertical bars
a collapsible or portable bed
a light bedstead
nautical a hammock-like bed with a stiff frame
Word Origin for cot
C17: from Hindi khāt bedstead, from Sanskrit khátvā, of Dravidian origin; related to Tamil kattil bedstead
noun
literary, or archaic a small cottage
Also called: cote - a small shelter, esp one for pigeons, sheep, etc
- (in combination)dovecot
Word Origin for cot
Old English cot; related to Old Norse kot little hut, Middle Low German cot
verb cots, cotting or cotted
Midland English dialect to entangle or become entangled
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 cotn.1"small bed," 1630s, from Hindi khat "couch, hammock," from Sanskrit khatva, probably from a Dravidian source (cf. Tamil kattil "bedstead").
n.2"hut, cottage;" see cote.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Abbreviation of cotangent
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
