Etymology

cotton

cot·ton
C3O1T1T1O1N1

Today it means: A soft, fibrous, usually white substance consisting of fine hairs, especially the substance around the seeds of a plant of genus Gossypium. Full definition →

Middle English cotoun ← Old French cotoun ← Italian cotone
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cotton · noun, adjective, verb1

  1. Aramaicכִיתָנָא /כִיתָאנָא (kittānā)
  2. Classical Syriacܟܶܬܳܢܳܐ (kettānā)
  3. Arabicقُطُن (quṭun)
  4. Italiancotone
  5. Old Frenchcotoun
  6. Middle Englishcotoun
  7. English todaycotton

From Middle English cotoun, from Anglo-Norman cotun, Old French coton, from (Genoese) Old Italian cotone, from Arabic قُطُن (quṭun), from Hebrew כֻּתֹּנֶת (kuttónĕṯ).

cotton · verb, noun2

  1. Welsh · borrowed fromcydun
  2. English todaycotton

First use appears c. the 1560s, either from Welsh cydun, cytun (“agree, coincide”) (cyduno, cytuno), from cyd, cyt + un (“one”), literally “to be at one with”, or by metaphor with the textile, as cotton blended well with other textiles, notably wool in hat-making.

Cotton · proper noun3

  1. Old English · derived fromcottūn“cottage farmstead”
  2. English todayCotton

From Old English cottūn (“cottage farmstead”), from cot (“cottage”) + tūn (“homestead”).

Cotton · proper noun4

  1. Hebrew · derived fromקָתָן“small”
  2. English todayCotton

From Hebrew קָתָן (katan, “small”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.