ˈcot-house, ˈcote-house Sc. and dial.
[f. cot n.1, cote n.1 + house n.]
1. A small cottage; spec. in Scotland, the house of a cottar.
(Although usually spelt cot-, the actual word in the south of Scotland is cote-, pronounced the same as coat, with the long o that has arisen from original short o in an open syllable, as in OE. cŏ-te, ME. cō-te.)
| 1549 Compl. Scot. xi. 96 Ne scottis man suld duel in ane house that vas loftit, bot rather in ane litil cot house. 1685 R. Hamilton Let. in Faithf. Contendings (1780) 198 Among the Cott-houses of Scotland. 1795 Macneill Will & Jean ii. vi, Twice a-week to Maggie's cot-house, Swift by post the papers fled. 1858 Mrs. Oliphant Laird of Norlaw I. 258 ‘That I couldna make a cothouse in Kirkbride..look like hame to my own bairns?’ 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Cot-house, the most usual name for a cottage; the latter is hardly ever heard among those who live in one. |
2. A slight shelter; a shed, outhouse, etc.
| 1606 Dekker Sev. Sinnes iii. (Arb) 27 Creeping into the Beadles Cothouse. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 423 Londoners..laugh at strong walled cities, as cotte houses for women [muliercularum habitacula]. 1871 J. R. Wise New Forest Gloss., Cot-house, an outhouse, shed. |