cotter

¹ American  

[kot-er] / ˈkɒt ər /

noun

1. a pin, wedge, key, or the like, fitted or driven into an opening to secure something or hold parts together.

2. cotter pin.

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verb (used with object)

1. to secure with a cotter.

cotter ² American  

[kot-er] / ˈkɒt ər /

noun

1. Scot. a person occupying a plot of land and cottage, paid for in services.

2. cottager.

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cotter ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒtə /

noun

1. any part, such as a pin, wedge, key, etc, that is used to secure two other parts so that relative motion between them is prevented

2. short for cotter pin

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verb

1. (tr) to secure (two parts) with a cotter

cotter ² British  

/ ˈkɒtə /

noun

1. Also called: cottier.  English history a villein in late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman times occupying a cottage and land in return for labour

2. Also called: cottar.  a peasant occupying a cottage and land in the Scottish Highlands under the same tenure as an Irish cottier

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Etymology

Origin of cotter¹

1300–50; Middle English coter; akin to late Middle English coterell iron bracket; of uncertain origin

Origin of cotter²

1175–1225; Middle English cotere < Anglo-French cot ( i ) er; cot ², -er ²

Example Sentences

Serial writers ran out of hazards years ago, have been working switches on them ever since; the loose cotter pin on the stagecoach, for example, has been used an estimated 7,000 times.

From Time Magazine Archive

At Tsurumi, outside Yokohama, another cotter pin evidently sheared off the wheel housing of a southbound freight car.

From Time Magazine Archive

As the U.S. cotter pin in the United Nations, Lodge was given Cabinet status and a large voice in U.S. policy�and grew in stature to measure up to both.

From Time Magazine Archive

But before you break out the wrench and cotter pins, it helps to go over some propeller basics to find a good starting point.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fastening of the right crank and chain-wheel is by multiple grooves and teeth, this fastening being better mechanically than the cotter type.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

Related Words

• chunk