Cotton

biographical name

John 1585–1652 American (English-born) Puritan clergyman

Did you know?

The noun cotton, from the Arabic word quṭun or quṭn, first appeared in English in the 14th century. The substance and the word that named it were soon both culturally prominent, so English did a very English thing to do—it created a verb from the noun. By the late 15th century, cotton could mean “to form a fuzzy or downy surface on (cloth).” This verb sense (as well as other cotton-related verb meanings) is a lexical dust bunny at this point, but our modern-day uses spun from it. By the mid 16th century cotton could mean “to go on prosperously, to develop well, to succeed.” The metaphor is not difficult to see, as cotton cloth with a nice nap has indeed developed well. By the early 17th century, the verb had shifted again, and cottoning was, as it still often is, about taking a liking to someone or something. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that someone who cottoned to or on to something had come to understand it.

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Kids Definition

cotton

1 of 2 noun

cot·​ton ˈkät-ᵊn 

1

a

: a soft usually white fluffy material that is made up of the hairs around the seeds of a tall plant related to the mallows and that is spun into yarn

b

: any plant that produces cotton

2

a

: fabric made of cotton

b

: yarn spun from cotton

cotton adjective

cotton

2 of 2 verb

cottoned; cottoning ˈkät-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to take a liking

cottoned to them at our first meeting

Medical Definition

cotton

noun

cot·​ton ˈkät-ᵊn 

often attributive

1

: 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 and used extensively in making threads, yarns, and fabrics (as in surgical dressings)

2

: a plant producing cotton

especially : one grown for its cotton