cotter

1
[ kot-er ]
See synonyms for cotter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a pin, wedge, key, or the like, fitted or driven into an opening to secure something or hold parts together.

verb (used with object)
  1. to secure with a cotter.

Origin of cotter

1
1300–50; Middle English coter; akin to late Middle English coterell iron bracket; of uncertain origin

Other definitions for cotter (2 of 2)

cotter2
[ kot-er ]

noun
  1. Scot. a person occupying a plot of land and cottage, paid for in services.

Origin of cotter

2
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. 2024

How to use cotter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cotter (1 of 2)

cotter1

/ (ˈkɒtə) machinery /


noun
  1. 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

  2. short for cotter pin

verb
  1. (tr) to secure (two parts) with a cotter

Origin of cotter

1
C14: shortened from cotterel, of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for cotter (2 of 2)

cotter2

/ (ˈkɒtə) /


noun
  1. Also called: cottier English history a villein in late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman times occupying a cottage and land in return for labour

  2. Also called: cottar a peasant occupying a cottage and land in the Scottish Highlands under the same tenure as an Irish cottier

Origin of cotter

2
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