cotter

[kot-er]Machinery

See more synonyms for cotter on Thesaurus.com

noun

a pin, wedge, key, or the like, fitted or driven into an opening to secure something or hold parts together.
cotter pin.

verb (used with object)

to secure with a cotter.

Origin of cotter

1300–50; Middle English coter; akin to late Middle English coterell iron bracket; of uncertain origin

cotter

[kot-er]

noun

Scot. a person occupying a plot of land and cottage, paid for in services.
cottager(def 2).

Origin of cotter

1175–1225; Middle English cotere < Anglo-French cot(i)er; see cot², -er²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for cotter

chunk, cusp, taper, spire, quoin, cleat, lump, keystone, prong, block, shim, cotter, chock

Examples from the Web for cotter

Historical Examples of cotter

We soon rounded the point, and Cotter and the trappers and the Post were lost to view.
The Long Labrador Trail
Dillon Wallace
There was only room beside me for Cotter, so I had him send down the knapsacks first.
Little Masterpieces of Science: Explorers
Various
I want to live in a cot like a cotter—that is, for us to live like two cotters.
John Gayther's Garden and the Stories Told Therein
Frank R. Stockton
The young men visited the cotter, and returned with the cart and the news.
The Art of Disappearing
John Talbot Smith
Whereupon Walton grinned and Cotter, with a sigh, begged him to scowl again!
Left Guard Gilbert
Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for cotter

cotter

noun

any part, such as a pin, wedge, key, etc, that is used to secure two other parts so that relative motion between them is prevented
short for cotter pin

verb

(tr) to secure (two parts) with a cotter

Word Origin for cotter

C14: shortened from cotterel, of unknown origin

cotter

noun

Also called: cottier English history a villein in late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman times occupying a cottage and land in return for labour
Also called: cottar a peasant occupying a cottage and land in the Scottish Highlands under the same tenure as an Irish cottier

Word Origin for cotter

C14: from Medieval Latin cotārius, from Middle English cote cot ²

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 cotter

1640s, perhaps a shortened form of cotterel, a dialectal word for "cotter pin or bolt, bracket to hang a pot over a fire" (1560s), itself of uncertain origin.