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QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of cough

1275–1325; Middle English coghen, apparently <Old English *cohhian (compare its derivative cohhettan to cough); akin to Dutch kuchen to cough, German keuchen to wheeze

OTHER WORDS FROM cough

cougher, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH cough

cough , cuff, koph
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cough in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cough

cough
/ (kɒf) /

verb
(intr) to expel air or solid matter from the lungs abruptly and explosively through the partially closed vocal chords
(intr) to make a sound similar to this
(tr) to utter or express with a cough or coughs
(intr) slang to confess to a crime
noun
an act, instance, or sound of coughing
a condition of the lungs or throat that causes frequent coughing

Derived forms of cough

cougher, noun

Word Origin for cough

Old English cohhetten; related to Middle Dutch kochen, Middle High German kūchen to wheeze; probably of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cough

cough
[ kĆ“f, kŏf ]

The act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory passages free of irritating material.
The American HeritageĀ® Science Dictionary Copyright Ā© 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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