Etymology

coot

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Today it means: Any of various aquatic birds of the genus Fulica that are mainly black with a prominent frontal shield on the forehead. Full definition →

Middle English cote ← Middle Dutch coet ← Proto-West Germanic *kūt
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coot · noun1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*kūt“bird of prey”
  2. Middle Dutch · derived fromcoet
  3. Middle English · inherited fromcote
  4. English todaycoot

From Middle English cote, coote, cute, cuytt (“coot”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word, or borrowed from Middle Dutch coet, cuut, kuut (“coot”) (whence modern Dutch koet and meerkoet (“coot”)). Possibly related to Middle High German kūz, kūze (modern German Kauz (“owl”)), Old English cȳta (“kite, bittern”) (whence English kite), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *kūt (“bird of prey”). See kite.

coot · noun2

Compare cootie.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishcote all →

coatcoteCoote

Proto-West Germanic*kūt all →

kite

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.