cot

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
: a small house
2
: cover, sheath
especially : stall sense 4

cot

2 of 3

noun (2)

1
: a small usually collapsible bed often of fabric stretched on a frame
2
British : crib sense 2b

cot

3 of 3

abbreviation

cotangent

Examples of cot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
There was a storage room for the year’s supply of corn—to sell, or to grind for the family’s tortillas—and, untouched all this time, the room where his son had lived: a sagging cot, a chair, some fading photographs and posters on the wall. Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 At a treatment facility set up at a school in a dense suburb of Harare, nurses wearing latex gloves tended to patients splayed on cots. Jeffrey Moyo, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2024 Modern cots are lightweight, comfortable and break down to a manageable size for stowing. Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Colors range from army cot green to washed spice orange. Jessica MacDonald, Travel + Leisure, 29 Jan. 2024 Sandbags remained pressed against the center’s doors on Tuesday, while lines of blue cots filled the gymnasium. Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2024 Besides 7 million sandbags, Ward said swift-water rescue teams, high-water vehicles, sheltering supplies for almost 40,000 people — such as food, cots, blankets and water — and other emergency response resources are pre-positioned. Katie Lauer, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2024 According to the Cybex website, Scott, 48, collaborated with the brand on several sleek strollers and carry cots, which range in price from $519 to $2,199. Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 20 Jan. 2024 Each could accommodate two people, meaning up to 800 could potentially receive cots and sleeping bags. Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, "dwelling of a rural laborer, cottage, hut," going back to Old English cot (neuter a-stem) "dwelling of a rural laborer, bedchamber," going back to Germanic *kuta- "shelter" (whence also Middle Dutch cot "hut, hovel, pen for animals," Old Icelandic kot "hut, cottage"), of uncertain origin

Note: Alongside Old English cot is cote, a feminine weak noun (see cote entry 1). The Dictionary of Old English and Middle English Dictionary collapse the entries for the two words, and, in fact, it is not always possible to assign inflected forms to one or the other. The Oxford English Dictionary, on the other hand, keeps them separate, though it notes that definite attestations of cot are very meager between Old English and early Modern English. The lemma for the words in the Dictionary of Old English is cott, cotte, but the geminate spellings only occur in the Lindisfarne Gospels, and would seem to be of purely graphic significance. The sense "bedchamber" (translating Latin cubile and cubiculum) occurs only in the Lindisfarne and Rushworth Gospels. — The Germanic noun appears to be the zero-grade form of a root attested in other grades, as suggested by G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic) and elsewhere; compare Old English cyte "monastic cell, shepherd's hut" (for *cīete), central German regional/dialect Kötze "basket for carrying on the shoulders, pannier," Norwegian køyta "wickerwork hut" (from *kautjōn-?); central German Kietze, Kitze "bark container, pannier" (from *keutja/ō-?). (Kroonen also adduces Kiez/Kietz, originally "place where fishermen live," now "district of a city, red-light district," but as this word was native to northeastern Germany, a source with High German consonantism is unlikely.) Comparisons beyond Germanic are uncertain. If proto-Finno-Ugric *kota is relevant (compare Finnish kota "hut, house," Hungarian ház "house"), a European substratal origin is possible, though its introduction into Germanic would have to postdate Grimm's law.

Noun (2)

Hindi & Urdu khāṭ bedstead, from Sanskrit khaṭvā, perhaps of Dravidian origin; akin to Tamil kaṭṭil bedstead

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cot was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near cot

Cite this Entry

“Cot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cot. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cot

1 of 2 noun

cot

2 of 2 noun
: a narrow bed often made of fabric stretched over a folding frame
Etymology

Noun

Old English cot "cottage"

Noun

from Hindi and Urdu khāt "frame of a bed"

Medical Definition

cot

1 of 2 noun
: a protective cover for a finger

called also fingerstall

cot

2 of 2 noun
: a wheeled stretcher for hospital, mortuary, or ambulance service

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