▪ I. cotton, n.1
(ˈkɒt(ə)n)
Forms: 3–5 cotoun, 4–6 coton, 5 cotone, -un(e, -ounn, -yn, kotyn, 6 cottonne, 6–7 cotten, 6– cotton.
[ME. coton, cotoun, a. F. coton = Pr. coton, It. cotone, OSp. coton, Pg. cotão, a. Arab. qutn, qutun, in Sp. Arab. qoton. From the Arab. with prefixed article, alqoton, Sp. alcoton, algodon, comes acton, q.v.]
I. 1. a. The white fibrous substance, soft and downy like wool, which clothes the seeds of the cotton-plant (Gossypium); used (more extensively than any other material) for making cloth and thread, and for various purposes in the arts.
(An early use in Europe was for the padding of jerkins worn under mail, and the stuffing of cushions, mattresses, etc.)
| [1300 Siege of Caerlaverock (1828) 72 Maint riche gamboison garni De soie et cadas et coton. 1381–2 Compotus Earl of Derby (Hen. IV) fol. 2 (MS,), 1 lb. fił de coton..16 d.—6 lbs. coton, 4 s.] c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xix. 212 Theise men ben the beste worcheres of gold, Syluer, Cotoun, Sylk. Ibid. (Roxb.) xxxi. 142 Þare er treez þat berez cotoun. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 96 Cotune [1499 Pynson, coton], bombicinum. 1555 Eden Decades 5 Mattresses made of the cotton of the gossampine trees. 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 93 Cloathes made of cotton or bombast. 1622 Wither Philarete (1633) 629 He..Softer finds those beds of love, Then the Cotton ripest growne. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 108 Apply a drop or two of oil of Cloves on Cotton. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. xiv. (1876) 195 In 1860, about 621,000 tons of raw cotton were imported into the United Kingdom. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. ii. 151 The commercial value of Cotton depends upon the length and tenacity of these hair-cells. |
† b. pl. Also
phr. to tread on cottons: to go softly.
Obs.| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 137 Trees also here be that do bring forth cottens. 1627–77 Feltham Resolves i. xvi. 28 As for Man, it [the Gospel] teaches him to tread on Cottons, mild's his wilder temper. 1638 L. Roberts Merch. Map Commerce 193 The commodities that this place at first affoorded..were..Aniseeds, Cottons, Galles. |
† c. ? A piece of cotton-wool.
Obs.| 1610 Markham Masterp. ii. cxxix. 431 Other Farriers take of Gipsiacum the strongest kind, and lay it on the excression with a cotton. |
† d. The fibre used for the wick of candles; a candle-wick.
Obs.| [1290 Compotus Bolton Abbey in T. D. Whitaker Hist. Craven 326 In sapo et Cotoun ad Candelam.] 1466 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 213 For makenge of candelle and for cotone to the same, xxiij. d. 1530 Palsgr. 209/1 Cotton for weke, cotton. 1598 Florio, Lucignoli..weekes or cottons of candles. |
e. Colloq. phr. (
U.S.):
to spit cotton, to spit white, cottony saliva; to be very thirsty; to have a dry mouth; also
fig., to be very angry.
| 1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan II. xxv. 391 Spit a little cotton or so..and you'll see the fun. Ibid. 392 We'll see who spits cotton first. 1851 in T. A. Burke Polly Peablossom's Wedding 179 He awoke spitting little wads of cotton, his mouth being as dry and dusty as Broadway in fly-time. 1899 B. W. Green Word-bk. Virginia Folk-Speech 354 When one is very thirsty and his mouth dry the spittle white and sticky he is said to ‘spit-cotton’. 1947 Chicago Daily News 14 June 6/3 The Kansas City vote frauds..have Attorney General Tom Clark spitting cotton, they believe. |
2. The cotton-plant; the genus
Gossypium. Also, cotton-plants collectively, as a cultivated crop.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxviii. 288 In that contree..men putten in werke the sede of cotoun. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 12 b, Cotton is a small busshy herbe wyth a lefe lyke a vinde, but lesse. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cccxxxv. 900 The seed of Cotton is hot and moist. a 1668 Davenant Plat. Lovers Wks. (1673) 410 You shall to the Burmudos, Friend, and there plant Cotton. 1794 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxiv. 341 The exterior calyx in Cotton and Lavatera is trifid. 1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 105 Gossypium herbaceum, or Common Cotton, is the species which is most generally cultivated. Ibid. 106 G. arboreum is the Tree Cotton..a shrub growing from four to ten feet high. |
3. Thread spun from cotton yarn, used for sewing garments and for weaving bobbin-net; also called
sewing-cotton; in full
cotton thread.
| 1848 A. Brontë Tenant of Wildfell Hall ii, To pick up the ball of cotton, that had rolled under the table. 1877 Willcox & Gibbs' Direct. for Sewing Machines 13 Where 40 cotton would be used in hand sewing, use 60 or 70 cotton on the machine..Soft finished black and coloured cottons will often break..Use glacé cotton in place of linen thread. 1892 (Reel-label) Best six-cord 24 Sewing-machine Cotton, twopenny reel. |
4. Cloth or other fabric made of cotton; in
pl. cotton fabrics, also cotton clothes or garments.
See
calico 2 b. (The first two
quots. apparently belong here.)
| 14.. Metr. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 629 Bumbicinium, kotyn or pakclothe. c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 935 Looke þer be blanket, cotyn, or lynyn to wipe þe neþur ende. 1590 Webbe Trav. (Arb.) 20 A shirt of Cotten and Breeches of the same. a 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Wit without Money iii. iv, Cloth of Silver turned into Spanish Cottens for a penance. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 389 Our woollens and cottons, it is true, are not all for the home market. 1822 J. Flint Lett. Amer. 21 The seamen..dressed in striped cottons. 1842 J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. (1862) II. 179, I think cotton is a more economical wear than woollen; the practice of wearing cotton has grown very much within the last six or seven years. 1887 Mabel Wetheral Two N.C. Maids xxiv. 171 The blue cottons she mostly wore were washed out. |
† 5. The pile of fustian.
Obs.| 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 27 They strike and drawe the seid Irons over the seid Fustians unshorne, by meanes wherof they pull of both the noppe and the coton of the same Fustians. Ibid., And also they rayse vp the cotton of such Fustians, and then take a light candle and set in the Fustian burning, which sengeth and burneth away the cotton..downe to the hard threds, in stead of shering. |
6. transf. a. A down resembling cotton growing on other plants.
| 1551 Turner Herbal i. (1568) I j b, The leues of centunculus haue both without [and within] a whyte wolle, or cottone. 1578 Lyte Dodoens i. xii. 20 Which [the flowers of Folefoote] do suddenly fade, and chaunge into downe, or cotton, which is carried away with the winde. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden xiv. 28 It [the Quince-Tree] beareth the Name of..Cotonea, as some think from the down, which groweth upon the Fruit, which is called Cotton. 1797 T. Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. 146 The nest is..bound to the twigs with the cotton of plants. 1866 Treas. Bot. s.v. Ochroma, The cotton [of O. Lagopus] is used for stuffing pillows and cushions. |
† b. Down or soft hair growing on the body.
Obs. rare. [So F.
coton = poil follet.]
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 65 Pubes doeth more properly signifie the Downe or Cotton when it ariseth about those parts. |
† c. attrib. Having (short) ‘cotton’ or soft hair.
Obs.| 1492 Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. I. 202 Quhyte smal cotton lamskynnis to lyne this gowne. |
7. With qualifying word prefixed:
corkwood cotton, the silky down of
Ochroma Lagopus (
cf. silk-cotton);
French cotton, the silky down of
Calotropis procera; also the plant itself;
mineral cotton, a metallic fibre, consisting of fine white threads, formed by sending a jet of steam through a stream of liquid slag as it runs from the furnace;
Natal cotton, a textile material obtained from the pods of a species of
Batatas;
† petty cotton, an old name for
Gnaphalium and allied plants; also called
small cotton;
† philosophic cotton, a name for zinc oxide, when obtained as a white flocculent powder by burning zinc;
wild cotton, a name in Scotland for
cotton-grass. See also flax-cotton,
gun-cotton, lavender-cotton,
silk-cotton.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens i. lxii. 90 Of Gnaphalion or Small Cotton..It may be called also Pety Cotton, or small Bombase: in French Petit Coton. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Philosophic Cotton, a name given by some chemical writers to the flowers of zink, from their whiteness, and silky or cottony appearance. 1808 Jamieson, Wild Cotton, cotton-grass..Eriophorum polystachion, Linn. |
II. Attrib. and
Comb. 8. attrib. or adj. (without hyphen). Made of cotton: said of cloth, thread, garments, etc.; also in specific names of fabrics or materials, as
cotton batting,
cotton damask,
cotton rep,
cotton russet,
cotton tick,
cotton wadding, etc.
| 1552 Huloet, Cotton clothe, xylinus pannus. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. ix. 27 Twenty pieces of Caracas, which are stained linnen, or Cotten Tapestry. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 384 The Cotton-cloth was to make Sail. 1752 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Paper, From the XIIth century, cotton MSS. are more frequent than parchment ones. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. iv. vii. (1869) II. 140 The muslins and other cotton goods of the East Indies. 1825 Sir J. Bowring Autobiog. Recoll. (1877) 319 Her hair tangled, a common cotton gown on. 1868 Rogers Pol. Econ. iii. (1876) 26 Pieces of cotton cloth answer the purpose of a currency in Eastern Africa. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 636/2 Cotton thread for sewing is made by laying together two or more yarns of equal quality and twisting them. 1883 [see batting 2]. |
9. attrib. and
general comb. (with or without hyphen).
a. Of or relating to the growing plant or crop, as
cotton bole,
cotton crop,
cotton field,
cotton grove,
cotton pod,
cotton straw, etc.;
cotton-planter;
cotton-growing,
cotton-planting,
cotton-producing, etc.,
vbl. ns. and
adjs.;
cotton-like adj. Also
cotton-picker, -picking.
| 1890 Frazer Gold. Bough I. iii. 353 In the Punjaub..when the *cotton boles begin to burst. |
| 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom xxxvi, You'll lose your bet on the *cotton-crop. |
| 1861 L. L. Noble Icebergs 23 The *cotton-fields of Alabama. |
| 1757 Dyer Fleece ii. (1761) 110 (Jodrell) Who plant the *cotton-grove by Ganges' stream. |
| 1860 Sat. Rev. IX. 65/2 The *cotton growers of Louisiana. |
| 1864 R. L. De Coin Cotton & Tobacco 68 The *cotton-growing states of America. |
| 1781 G. White Selborne (1789) II. liii. 266 A *cotton-like substance, surrounding a multitude of eggs. 1861 Illustr. London News 18 May 476/2 The fibre is cottonized—i.e., disintegrated, and made to form a cottonlike mass. |
| 1840 Ann. Reg. 68 Several..gentlemen, brought up as *cotton-planters in the United States. |
| 1890 in Frazer Gold. Bough I. iii. 353 Bhogla, a name sometimes given [in the Punjaub] to a large *cotton-pod. |
| 1883 H. W. V. Stuart Egypt 66 Fields of green crops, or dourra stubble, or *cotton straw. |
b. Of or relating to cotton as a commercial product or material, as
cotton bale,
cotton-broker,
cotton-card,
cotton-dyer,
cotton factory,
cotton fuzz,
cotton-jenny,
cotton manufactory,
cotton manufacture,
cotton-manufacturer,
cotton-mule,
cotton-operative,
cotton-reel,
cotton trade,
cotton-weaving,
cotton-worker,
cotton-works, etc.;
cotton-clad,
cotton-covered,
cotton-wrapped,
adjs. Also
cotton-spinner, -spinning.
| 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom xiv, Piled with *cotton-bales, the steamer moved heavily onward. |
| 1811 London P.O. Direct. 164 *Cotton broker. 1851 A. O. Hall Manhattaner 31 Yonder is the cotton broker, with the fluctuations of the market for a ten years past all penciled on his face. |
| 1782 in Bancroft Hist. U.S. (1876) VI. lvii. 468 Wool-cards, *cotton-cards, and wire for making them. |
| 1884 Pall Mall G. 31 Dec. 1/2 The natives of the New Hebrides have been converted from naked cannibals into *cotton-clad Christians. |
| 1925 P. J. Risdon Crystal Receivers & Circuits iii. 36 For the amateur, *cotton-covered wire is perhaps the most suitable. |
| 1802 Act 42 Geo. III c. 73, An Act for the Preservation of the health and morals of apprentices and others, employed in..*cotton and other factories. 1859 Smiles Self-Help 32 James Hargreaves..was a poor weaver employed in a cotton factory at Standhill. |
| 1839 Carlyle Chartism viii. 165 Manchester, with its *cotton-fuzz, its smoke and dirt. |
| 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 175 The clove originally used by Hargreave in his *cotton-jenny. |
| 1792 Gentl. Mag. LXII. ii. 863 The establishment of *Cotton Manufactories. |
| 1886 Morley W. R. Greg Crit. Misc. III. 235 The wonderful machinery of the *cotton manufacture. |
| 1783 Specif. Brotherston's Patent No. 1357. 1 Peter Brotherston, of Pennycuick, *Cotton Manufacturer. |
| 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Ability Wks. (Bohn) II. 41 The *cotton-mule of Roberts. |
| 1863 Fawcett Pol. Econ. ii. iv. (1876) 154 The skill of a *cotton-operative. |
| 1865 E. B. Tylor Early Hist. Mankind vi. 113 A wooden brick or a *cotton-reel. |
| 1825 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1885) II. 108 To make the Irish *cotton-workers would infallibly make them happy. 1862 T. Guthrie Pract. Sympathy (1863) 23 The suffering cotton-workers are not guilty. |
| 1806 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. IV. 352 Several *cotton-works have been attempted but have not been successful. |
| 1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 174 All the dark-faced, *cotton-wrapped people. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 23 Feb. 2/2 Cotton-wrapped wire. |
10. Special comb.:
cotton-backed a. (of velvet and other fabrics), having a back or web of cotton;
cotton-bagging, a coarse wrapping material used for baling cotton-wool (Simmonds
Dict. Trade Prod.);
cotton bat,
batting (
orig. U.S.), a thin sheet or roll of carded cotton; surgical cotton;
cotton belt U.S., the area in which cotton is grown (see
belt n.1 5 a);
cotton-boll weevil (see
boll n.1 6);
† cotton-bond (see
quot.);
cotton-bush, (
a) a bush on which cotton grows; (
b) any of various Australian shrubs (
esp. Kochia aphylla) having a downy appearance;
cotton-cake, a mass of compressed cotton seed from which the oil has been extracted, used (like linseed cake) for feeding cattle;
† cotton candle, a candle with a cotton wick (see
candle n. 1);
cotton candy U.S. (see
quot. 1961);
cotton-chopper (see
quot.);
cotton-cleaner, a machine for cleaning cotton by the operations of scutching, blowing, etc.;
cotton count, the standard of fineness of cotton (
cf. count n.1 2 b);
cotton drill, a coarse cotton fabric;
cotton-elevator, a tube through which cotton is carried to the upper stories of a cotton-mill by means of an air-blast or spiked straps;
cotton famine, the failure of the supply of cotton to English mills which was caused by the blockade of the Southern ports during the American Civil War;
cotton-fish = milk-fish (see
milk n. 10) (the sense in
quot. 1851 is uncertain);
cotton flannel, a strong cotton fabric with a long plush nap, also called
cotton plush and
Canton flannel;
cotton-floater (see
quot.);
cotton-fly (see
quot.);
cotton gin, a machine for freeing cotton-wool from the seeds; also, a building in which cotton is ginned;
cotton-leaf tea, an infusion made from the leaves of a species of
Gossypium, the cotton plant;
cotton-man, one who trades in cotton;
cotton-mill, a factory where cotton is spun or woven by steam or water power;
cotton-mouth, a venomous snake of the southern
U.S., a species of the copperhead, so called from having a white streak along the lips;
cotton-opener, a machine for loosening and blowing cotton after its transport in compressed bales;
cotton paper, paper made from cotton;
† cotton-pencil, a pencil or brush made of cotton;
cotton plush = cotton flannel (above);
cotton-powder, an explosive prepared from gun-cotton;
cotton-press, a machine (or warehouse) for pressing cotton into bales;
cotton print, cotton cloth printed with a design in colours; so
cotton-printer,
-printing;
cotton-rat, a rodent (
Sigmodon hispidus) common in southern
U.S.;
cotton rep, a rep (
rep3) made of cotton;
cotton-rib, a kind of fustian, or corduroy;
cotton-rock (see
quot.);
cotton-rose, a name for the plant-genus
Filago;
cotton-rush,
-sedge = cotton-grass;
cotton shrub, a shrub of the genus
Gossypium;
cotton-stainer, a heteropterous insect,
Dysdercus suturellus, which gives a reddish stain to cotton;
cotton State, any one of the cotton-growing States of the American Union;
cotton-tail, the common rabbit of the United States (
Lepus sylvaticus), which has a white fluffy tail;
cotton-tie, a combination of iron hoop and buckle used for the tying of cotton bales;
cotton-topper, a machine for pruning the growing cotton-plants;
cotton velvet, a cotton fabric made with a pile like velvet; a kind of fustian;
cotton waste, refuse yarn from the manufacture of cotton, used for cleaning machinery and other purposes;
cotton-wick, candle-wick made of cotton; hence
cotton-wicked a.;
cotton-worm, the larva of an insect (
Aletia xylina) very destructive to the cotton-crops of America;
cotton yarn, cotton prepared for weaving into fabrics.
| 1881 M. A. Lewis Two Pretty G. III. 214 Beatrix in the glories of white *cotton-backed satin. 1891 Daily News 24 Sept. 5/4 No one, however, objects to the various velveteen ladies..in cotton-backed velvet gowns. |
| 1806 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. IV. 352 A considerable quantity of..*cotton-bagging is annually made for exportation. |
| 1847 Rep. U.S. Comm. Patents 1844 35 These are nothing more than a thick layer of cotton, carded into what are called at the north ‘*cotton bats’. |
| 1827 Hartford (Conn.) Mirror 31 Dec. 1/2 (Advt.), Irish Linens—*Cotton batting old price 10 cts lb. 1883 Cotton batting [see batting vbl. n. 2]. 1934 H. Miller Tropic of Cancer (1948) 140 I'd like to..go to a hospital... They wash you with cotton batting and they comb your hair for you. 1967 Everyman's Encycl. (ed. 5) IV. 121/1 Prepared sheets or rolls of it are used like cotton batting for stuffing and quilting. |
| 1871 R. Somers Southern States 257 In many other parts of the ‘*Cotton Belt’. 1897 Lippincott's Mag. May 688 The Cotton Belt embracing the heart of the Southern country. 1952 Manch. Guardian Weekly 31 July 7 A tenant farmer's son from the cotton belt. |
| 1865 Morning Star 6 Feb., What do you mean by *Cotton Bonds? Witness: Certificates of the Confederate Government representing say twenty bales of cotton worth so much money. |
| 1672 W. Hughes Amer. Physitian 70 Of *cotton-bushes there are two sorts. a 1693 Urquhart Rabelais iii. li. 414 The Bombast and Cotton Bushes. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica (1789) 435 The caterpillars of these flies are frequently pernicious to the cotton-bushes. 1876 J. A. Giles in W. Harcus South Australia 201 A fine open hilly district..with plenty of herbage and cotton-bush. 1902 J. H. M. Abbott Tommy Cornstalk 20 The species of salt-bush known in Australia as ‘cotton-bush’. 1941 F. D. Davison in Coast to Coast 1941 104 He memorized the position of a couple of cotton bushes. |
| 1891 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Ser. iii. II. 837 Undecorticated *cotton-cakes. |
| 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1376/2 One pound of *cotton candels. 1606 Wily Beguiled Prol. in Hazl. Dodsley IX. 221 Why, noble Cerberus, nothing but..cotton-candle eloquence? |
| 1926 Springfield (Mass.) Union 4 Mar., How much profit is made on *cotton candy sold at fairs. 1961 Observer 29 Mar. 29/3 Something called ‘cotton candy’ (anglice ‘candy floss’) is sold at seashore resorts; it is made by expanding under pressure a tiny amount of sugar into a huge tasteless blob. 1970 New Yorker 23 May 106/3 There were stands where you could get..cotton candy, hot dogs. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Cotton-chopper, an implement which is drawn over a drilled row of cotton-plants, and chops gaps in the row so as to leave the plants in bunches or hills. |
| 1904 Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 135/1 *Cotton counts are based on the number of hanks of 840 yds. in 1 lb. |
| 1899 Daily News 16 Oct. 6/6 The drab, *cotton-drill khaki. |
| 1863 Morning Star 1 Jan. 6 The rapid extension of distress in the manufacturing districts of the North through what is justly called ‘the *cotton famine’. |
| 1851 De Bow's Rev. XI. 56 Gaspagon; *Cotton Fish; Trout [occur]. 1880 Cotton fish [see milk-fish s.v. milk n. 10]. |
| 1845 Mass. Stat. 21 Mar., Number of yards of *cotton flannel manufactured. Value of cotton flannel. 1867 Mrs. Whitney L. Goldthwaite ix, She came back, bringing some two or three pairs of cotton-flannel drawers. 1890 Art Interchange 20 Dec. 210/2 The beautifully coloured cotton flannels, now called cotton plush in the shops, have a soft satiny appearance. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Cotton-floaters, an India-rubber envelope or casing, in which bales of cotton are floated down some of the American rivers. |
| 1756 P. Browne Jamaica (1789) 435 Bruchus..The *Cotton-Fly. This little insect is chiefly of a scarlet colour..The caterpillars of these flies are frequently pernicious to the cotton-bushes. |
| 1796 (May 12) U.S. Patent to H. Holmes for a *cotton gin. 1807 Deb. Congress (1852) 460, I went into the cotton gin that was near the house. 1832 Mech. Mag. XVII. 430 Memoir of Eli Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin. |
| 1857 Livingstone Trav. xi. 204 The soil on all the flat parts is a rich dark tenacious loam, known as the ‘*Cotton-ground’ in India. |
| 1881 Trans. Obstet. Soc. Lond. XXII. 31 She said that she had brought down the milk by drinking ‘*cotton leaf tea’. |
| 1906 Daily Chron. 26 Jan. 4/5 The *Cottonmen,..with an average protection of about 30 per cent., are asking for more. |
| 1791 Gentl. Mag. LXI. ii. 1054 About three in the morning, W. Kirk's *Cotton-mills at Barnford..were destroyed by fire. 1835 Baines Cotton Manuf. 206 Ropes made of cotton-mill waste. 1859 Smiles Self-Help 31 A cotton-mill was first erected at Nottingham, driven by horses; and another..at Cromford in Derbyshire, turned by a water-wheel. |
| 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer., *Cotton-mouth, a poisonous snake of Arkansas. 1885 C. F. Holder Marvels Anim. Life 129 The copperhead..is also known as the cotton-mouth, moccasin and red-eye in the South. |
| 1752 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Paper, *Cotton Paper, charta bombycina..has been in use upwards of 600 years. 1837–9 Hallam Hist. Lit. i. i. (1855) I. 59 [Letters] of the time of Edwd. I. written upon genuine cotton paper of no great thickness. 1874 Deutsch Rem. 407 Their material is vellum or cotton-paper. |
| 1658 W. Sanderson Graphice 79 They were rubbed-in with small *Cotten-pensills. |
| 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) I. x. 322 The *cotton-powder yielded a very effective report. 1888 Wardell Handbk. Gunpowder 84 Tonite, or cotton powder, consists of gun-cotton thoroughly purified, mixed or impregnated with nitrates, usually nitrate of barium. |
| 1866 Harvard Mem. Biog. I. 385 To take charge of building and running a *cotton-press in Memphis, Tennessee. |
| 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend xl, Shrouding herself..in her *cotton print cloak, she followed him. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Cotton-printer, a machine-printer, who stamps and dyes cotton fabrics. |
| 1827 Westm. Rev. VII. 284 *Cotton-printing, paper-staining. |
| 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 89/2 *Cotton reps..are chiefly employed for the linings of crétonne curtains. 1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 85/1 Cotton rep, heavy cotton fabric with ribs, usually horizontal. Used for draperies, children's school clothes, etc. |
| 1824 E. Baines Hist. Lanc. I. iv. 114 The fustian made in this early period of the manufacture were denominated herring-bone..strong *cotton-ribs, and barragon..to which were afterwards added cotton thicksetts. |
| 1856 Swallow Geol. Missouri (Bartlett), *Cotton Rock, a variety of Magnesian limestone, of a light buff or gray color, found in Missouri. It is very soft when fresh from the quarry. |
| 1826 Carrington Dartmoor Pref. 8 The tall reed and the glossy plumes of the *cotton rush nod in the breeze. |
| 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. ii. 272 Common *Cotton Sedge. |
| 1752 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Paper, [The paper] made by the Chinese from their *cotton-shrub. 1848 Chambers' Inform. for People I. 340 The cotton shrub grows in almost every country where the annual herbaceous cotton is found. |
| 1883 W. Saunders Insects Injur. Fruits 387 Dysdercus suturellus..is commonly known as the red-bug, or *cotton-stainer. |
| 1858 W. L. Yancey in Cradle of Confed. 393 If we..organize ‘committees of safety’ all over the *cotton States..we shall fire the Southern heart. 1891 M. Townsend U.S. 66 Alabama is called the Cotton State because it is the central State of the Cotton Belt. |
| 1879 Bridges Round World 25 Some *cotton-tails (rabbits). 1885 Harper's Mag. May 828/2 A cotton-tail rabbit rose. |
| 1888 Star 21 July 4/2 The ‘*cotton-ties’ from its world-renowned forges. |
| 1777 Specif. S. Dolignon's Patent No. 1175. 1 Colouring the whole or part of the surface of..silk or *cotton velvet. 1795 J. Aikin Country round Manch. 159 About the time when draw-boys were first made, cotton velvets were attempted. |
| 1824 E. Baines Hist. Lanc. I. 548 *Cotton waste dealers. 1854 Mrs. Gaskell North & S. xxxviii, I might as well put a firebrand into the midst of the cotton-waste. |
| 1678 R. R[ussell] Geber ii. i. iv. v. 94 Putting a little *Cotton-Weik into the hole. 1692 Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. ii. xxxi. 149 Dip Cotton-Week into Gun powder wet with water. |
| 1707 G. Miege St. Gt. Brit. ii. 31 *Cotton-Wick'd Candle. |
| 1870 Riley Missouri Rep. Insects 37 The *Cotton-worm (Anomis xylina Say) is very generally known by the name of the Cotton Army worm, in the South. |
| 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 3983/4 The Cargo of the Ship Hamstead Galley..consisting of..*Cotton-yarn, Cotton-wooll. 1824 E. Baines Hist. Lanc. I. 548 Cotton-yarn dealers. |
▪ II. † cotton, n.2 Obs. [Of doubtful etymology. Possibly the same word as prec., connected with the sense ‘down, nap’, as being a sort of cloth on which the nap was left. Another suggestion would connect it with cot n.2 as being perhaps made of cot-wool, or with med.L. cottum bed-quilt. But evidence is wanting.] A woollen fabric of the nature of frieze, in the 16th and 17th c. largely manufactured in Lancashire, Westmorland, and Wales (
Manchester cotton,
Kendal cotton, and
Welsh cotton).
| 1523 Act 14–5 Hen. VIII, c. 11 Any Cottons or playne lininge or frise, made..in..Lancasshyre. 1552 Leland (Draper's Dict.), Bolton-upon Moore market stondeth most by cottons and coarse yarne. Divers villages in the Moors about Bolton doe make cottons. 1580 R. Hitchcock Pol. Plat in Arb. Garner II. 166 At Rouen in France..be sold our English wares, as Welsh and Manchester cottons. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 597 In it there is a great trafficke, especially of Welsh cottons, of a slight and thinne webbe. Ibid. i. 746 This towne was of farre greater account..for certain wollen clothes there wrought and in great request, commonly called Manchester Cottons. 1641 Heylin Help to Hist. (1680) 387 Manchester Cottons being famous in all Draper's Shops. 1754 R. Pococke Trav. (1889) II. 2 [Kendal manufactures] A sort of frieze call'd Cotton, at eight pence a yard..for the West Indies, for the use of the slaves. 1840 C. Nicholson Ann. Kendal (1861) 241 ‘Kendal cotton’ at length became degraded to the use of horse-checks, floor-cloths, dusters, mops, etc. |
| attrib. 1503 Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (Beck Draper's Dict.), For v yerdes of cotton russet for the Quenes choare. 1585 Abp. Sandys Serm. (1841) 155 A cotton coat, light for the one time and warm for the other. 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 98 (R.) The poorer sort do line their clothes with cotton-cloth, which is made of the finest wool they can pick out. a 1653 G. Daniel Idyll iv. 52, I can as well keep bare To a Cotton-Bench, as to a Velvet-Chaire. |
▪ III. † cotton, n.3 Obs. rare—1.
[Cf. It. cotogna, mela cotogna quince.] ? Quince.
| 1632 W. Lithgow Trav. vii. (1682) 317 Malta..a barren place..but it yieldeth good store of Pomegranates, Citrons, Cottons, Orenges. |
▪ IV. cotton, v.1 (
ˈkɒt(ə)n)
Also 6–8
cotten.
[f. the n. Cf. F. cotonner (16th c. in Littré). The original notion in branch II is uncertain: but see quots. under sense 2, and 1608 in 4.] I. literally.
† 1. trans. To form a down or nap on; to furnish with a nap, to frieze.
Obs.| 1488 [see cottoned 1]. 1557 Act 4–5 Phil. & Mary c. 5 §11 Every Yard of Cotton being fully wrought and Cottoned shall weigh one Pound at the least. 1591 Percivall. Sp. Dict., Frisar, to rub, to cotten, to freese clothe. 1598 Florio, Cotonare, to cotton, to bumbace, to thrum, or set a nap vpon. |
2. intr. Of cloth, etc.: To form or take on a nap, to rise with a nap. ?
Obs.| 1608 [see 4]. 1706 Phillips (Kersey), To Cotton, to Frize, or wear Nappy, as some Stuffs do. Ibid. s.v. Cottum, In making Hats, To Cotton well, is when the Wooll and other Materials work well and imbody together. 1822 Nares, Cotton, to succeed, to go on prosperously: a metaphor, probably, from the finishing of cloth, which when it cottons, or rises to a regular nap, is nearly or quite complete. |
3. trans. a. To furnish or clothe with cotton.
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Hant-shire 7 William Cotton..was made Bishop of Exeter. The Queen merrily saying (alluding to the plenty of clothing in those parts) that she hoped that now she had well Cottoned the West’. |
b. To stop
up with cotton or cotton-wool.
| 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 323 All the interstices cottoned up. |
c. fig. To wrap up as in cotton or cotton-wool, to pad.
nonce-use.
| 1858 Lytton What will he do vi. v. (D.), While that man..should be rolling in wealth, and cottoned up in a palace. 1887 R. L. Stevenson in Contemp. Rev. LI. 477 Already in our society..the bourgeois is too much cottoned about for any zest in living. |
II. fig. (
intr.)
† 4. To prosper, succeed, ‘get on’ well.
Obs. In 16–17th c. very frequent in phrase
this gear cottons.
| c 1560 Preston Cambyses in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 215 How like ye now, my masters? doth not this gear cotton? 1584 Lyly Alex. & Campaspe iii. iv, Doth not this matter cotton as I would? 1591 Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 53 Come on Sir Friar, picke the locke, this geere doth cotton hansome. 1608 Middleton Fam. Love iii. ii, It cottens well; it cannot choose but bear A pretty nap. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 308 After Females are separated from their mothers..they cotten sooner than men, grow sooner wise and sooner old. 1619 Fletcher M. Thomas iv. vii, Still Mistress Dorothy? this geer will cotton. 1681 Roxb. Ball. (1884) V. 202 Meal-Tub Devices, which never well did Cotten. 1876 Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘Nought cottons weel’, nothing turns out agreeable. 1877 E. Peacock N.W. Linc. Gloss., Cotton..(2) To grow, to improve (Obsolescent). |
5. To ‘get on’ together or with each other; to suit each other; to work harmoniously, harmonize, agree. (Const. sometimes
together,
with.)
a. of persons, etc.
| 1605 Play Stucley in Simpson Sch. Shaks. (1878) I. 169 John a Nokes and John a Style and I cannot cotton. a 1640 Day Peregr. Schol. (1881) 44 The Draper said, Truth and he should cotten well enough. 1660 T. M. C. Walker's Hist. Independ. iv. 46 [The Parliament] and their Masters of the Army could not cotton together. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., They don't cotton, they don't agree well. 1881 Mrs. C. Praed Policy & P. I. x. 212 All I ask is that I may be able to cotton with the man she's set her heart on. |
b. of things.
| 1567 Drant Horace, Arte Poetrie A v, That first with midst, and middst with laste, May cotten, and agree. 1614 T. Adams Devil's Banquet 54 Our secure liues, and your seuere Lawes will neuer cotten. 1652 Needham Selden's Mare Cl. 163 These things do not cotten well. 1840 Lady C. Bury Hist. of Flirt xviii, The vaulted roof of a cathedral..did not ‘cotton’ with lively ideas. |
6. To agree, to fraternize. Const.
together,
with, rarely
in.
cotton up: to make friendly advances, ‘make up’
to, strike up a friendship.
| 1648 Mercurius Elencticus 26 Jan. (Thomasson Tracts Brit. Mus. CCCXLVII. No. 25. 64) Unless Harry Marten and he cotten again, and make a powerful intercession for him. 1668 Shadwell Sullen Lovers iv, O rare! how we shall cotten together, as the saying is! 1695 Congreve Love for L. iii. v, I love to see 'em hug and cotten together, like Down upon a Thistle. 1766 T. Amory Buncle (1825) III. 79 He pledged me and cottoned in a very diverting way. 1822 Scott Nigel ii, Didst see..how the old goldsmith cottoned in with his beggarly countryman? 1835 Fraser's Mag. XI. 142 Gradually all cottoned together, and plunged into conversation. 1864 Derby Day 152 (Farmer) You stop here and cotton up to the gipsies. 1886 Hugh Conway Living or Dead xiv, ‘Then you cottoned up’? suggested Valentine. ‘Not a bit of it’, said Vigor, ‘He began to patronize me’. |
7. To ‘take’
to, attach oneself
to; to become drawn or attached
to.
| 1805 Knox & Jebb Corr. xxii. 164, I did not thoroughly cotton to your intended course of reading. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxxvii, ‘I don't object to Short,’ she says, ‘but I cotton to Codlin’. 1874 Trollope Lady Anna xviii. 138 You see, she had nobody else near her. A girl must cotton to somebody, and who was there? 1881 Mrs. C. Praed Policy & P. II. xii. 214, I object to you personally. I have never cottoned to you from the moment I set eyes upon you. |
8. Colloq. phr. to cotton on to: (
a) to become attached to; to form a liking for; (
b) to understand; to get to know about; also
to cotton on, to ‘catch on’.
| 1907 H. Lawson in Murdoch & Drake-Brockman Austral. Short Stories (1951) 85, I s'pose the fact of the matter was that she didn't cotton on to me, and wanted to let me down easy. 1922 D. H. Lawrence England, My England (1924) 106 Oh..I didn't want to... Didn't want to—didn't cotton on, like. 1929 W. P. Ridge Affect. Regards 137, I was one of the few that didn't cotton on to it. 1934 Concise Oxf. Dict. Add., Cotton on (to) (slang), understand. 1936 J. Tickell See how they Run i. 4, I don't seem to cotton on to German somehow. 1940 ‘N. Shute’ Landfall 198 ‘How long have they been doing this?’ ‘God knows. We've only just cottoned on to it.’ 1959 Observer 8 Nov. 4/6, I can see how to put things over. I cotton on quick. |
▪ V. ˈcotton, v.2 dial. [Perh. the same word as prec., sense 3, in ironical use; cf. line one's jacket and lambskin vb. in same sense.] trans. To beat, flog, thrash.
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. xi. 147 To Cotton (as they say) ones Coat, that is, to baste it. 1746 Exmoor Scolding (E.D.S.) 32 Zey zich a Word more, chell cotton thy Waistecoat. 1863 Mrs. Toogood Yorksh. Dial., I give thee a good cottoning if to 's so idle. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Cotton, to beat or thrash. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Cotton, to flog; to thrash. |
▪ VI. cotton obs. f. cot-town.