cotton

¹

[kot-n]

noun

1. a soft, white, downy substance consisting of the hairs or fibers attached to the seeds of plants belonging to the genus Gossypium, of the mallow family, used in making fabrics, thread, wadding, etc.

2. the plant itself, having spreading branches and broad, lobed leaves.

3. such plants collectively as a cultivated crop.

4. cloth, thread, a garment, etc., of cotton.

5. any soft, downy substance resembling cotton, but growing on other plants.

verb (used without object)

1. Informal.,  to get along; to agree (usually in the negative and followed bywith ).

   She didn't cotton with hypocrites.

   I don't cotton with conventional wisdom on this.

2. Obsolete.,  to prosper or succeed.

verb phrase

1. cotton (on) to

   1. to come to a full understanding of; grasp or realize.

      Once you cotton on to this principle, you see examples of it everywhere.

      Eventually both sets of parents cottoned on to the fact that the kids were lying about “studying” together.

   2. to become fond of; begin to like.

      I cottoned to the new girl right away when I saw she knew how to muck out a stall.

   3. to approve of; agree with.

      Some organic gardeners freeze the insects in a container and then put them out for the birds, but your kids may not cotton to this idea.

Cotton

²

[kot-n]

noun

1. John, 1584–1652, U.S. clergyman, colonist, and author (grandfather of Cotton Mather).

cotton

¹

/ ˈkɒtən /

noun

1. any of various herbaceous plants and shrubs of the malvaceous genus Gossypium, such as sea-island cotton, cultivated in warm climates for the fibre surrounding the seeds and the oil within the seeds See also sea-island cotton

2. the soft white downy fibre of these plants: used to manufacture textiles

3. cotton plants collectively, as a cultivated crop

4. 1. a cloth or thread made from cotton fibres

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cotton dress

5. any substance, such as kapok ( silk cotton ), resembling cotton but obtained from other plants

Cotton

²

/ ˈkɒtən /

noun

1. Sir Henry. 1907–87, English golfer: three times winner of the British Open (1934, 1937, 1948)

Other Word Forms

• half-cotton adjective
• semicotton noun
• uncottoned adjective
• cottony adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cotton¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English cotoun, cot(e)in, from Old French coton, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn

Word History and Origins

Origin of cotton¹

C14: from Old French coton, from Arabic dialect qutun, from Arabic qutn

Example Sentences

Eli Whitney’s cotton gin expanded slavery across the Deep South.

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Like the men on the line, I pulled on white cotton gloves and, as the machine inched forward, began lifting watermelons from the ground, up onto the table above me where the packers waited.

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Operating these new technologies were an army of young women clad in tailor-mades, or coordinating jackets and skirts, and easy-to-launder cotton shirtwaists, or blouses—all early triumphs of New York’s nascent ready-to-wear industry.

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With the 1793 invention of the cotton gin—which separated cotton fibers from its seeds with a previously undreamed-of efficiency—America’s plantation economy expanded exponentially and so did its use of slave labor.

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He is best known for his invention of the cotton gin, a machine that transformed cotton production, with tragic consequences for workers.

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