cot

¹

[ kot ]

noun

1. a light portable bed, especially one of canvas on a folding frame.
2. British. a child's crib.
3. a light bedstead.
4. Nautical. a hammocklike bed stiffened by a suspended frame.

cot

²

[ kot ]

noun

1. a small house; cottage; hut.
2. a small place of shelter.
3. a sheath or protective covering, as for an injured finger or toe.

cot

³

abbreviation for

, Trigonometry.

1. cotangent.

cot

¹

/ kɒt /

noun

1. literary.
   a small cottage
2. Also calledcote
   1. a small shelter, esp one for pigeons, sheep, etc
   2. ( in combination )

      dovecot

3. another name for fingerstall

cot

²

/ kɒt /

noun

1. a child's boxlike bed, usually incorporating vertical bars
2. a collapsible or portable bed
3. a light bedstead
4. nautical a hammock-like bed with a stiff frame

cot

³

/ kɒt /

verb

1. dialect.
   to entangle or become entangled

cot

⁴

/ kɒt /

abbreviation for

1. cotangent

cot

1. Abbreviation of cotangent

Word History and Origins

Origin of cot¹

1625–35; < Hindi khāṭ < Prakrit khaṭṭā < Sanskrit khaṭvā; akin to Tamil kattil bedstead

Origin of cot²

before 900; Middle English, Old English cot (neuter; cote ¹ ); cognate with Old Norse kot hut; akin to cubby, cove ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cot¹

Old English cot; related to Old Norse kot little hut, Middle Low German cot

Origin of cot²

C17: from Hindi khāt bedstead, from Sanskrit khátvā, of Dravidian origin; related to Tamil kattil bedstead

Example Sentences

The newlyweds moved into the park, making do in a shipping container that housed a bathroom and two military surplus cots.

From Los Angeles Times

Red Cross volunteers set up cots and tables as the organization began converting the temporary evacuation center at Padre Serra Parish into an overnight shelter.

From Los Angeles Times

Before then, maternity wards relied on handwritten tags and cards on cots.

From BBC

The neonatal nurse was then said to have stood over her cot, "doing nothing".

From BBC

Just six months after she was born Shamiam Arif suffered 70% burns to her face, hands and body when a candle fell into her cot at her family's home in Kashmir.

From BBC

Related Words

• bunk