Meanings
plural Colgates
- countableuncountableA village and civil parish in Horsham district, West Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ2332).
- countableuncountableA habitational surname from Old English.
Poirot's lips moved. Inspector Colgate leaned forward. Poirot was murmuring, "It's so difficult to know which pieces are part of the fur rug and which are the cat's tail."
1941, Agatha Christie, Evil Under the Sun - countableuncountableA particular brand of toothpaste.
The base of her electric toothbrush fell onto its side as she yanked a little too hard and squirted on a blob of Colgate. As the bristles met her front teeth, she savored the mint flavor on her tongue like peppermint candy.
2012, Linda Joffe Hull, The Big Bang, page 13
- Philippinesslanguncountabletoothpaste
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵwelH-
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵwl̥Hom
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵulHom
- Proto-Germanic*kulą
- Proto-West Germanic*kol
- Old Englishcol
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰe(n)d-
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰed-eti
- Proto-Germanic*getaną
- Proto-Germanic*gatą
- Proto-West Germanic*gat
- Old Englishġeat
- EnglishColgate
The toothpaste brand was named after the company founder, William Colgate. The surname derives from the place name, which is probably from Old English col (“coal”) and ġeat (“gate”). The Philippine sense is a genericized trademark from the toothpaste brand, Colgate. Compare Cebuano kulgit.
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Colgate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Colgate
“Colgate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Colgate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Colgate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Colgate.
Source: Colgate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.