Main Entry: ¹cot·ton

Pronunciation: \ˈkä-t^ən\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English coton, from Anglo-French cotun, from Old Italian cotone, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn

Date: 14th century

1 a : a soft usually white fibrous substance composed of the hairs surrounding the seeds of various erect freely branching tropical plants (genus Gossypium) of the mallow family b : a plant producing cotton; especially : one grown for its cotton c : a crop of cotton
2 a : fabric made of cotton b : yarn spun from cotton
3 : a downy cottony substance produced by various plants (as the cottonwood)

[cotton illustration]