Meanings
coto1
plural cotos
- historicalA traditional Spanish unit of length, equivalent to about 10.4 cm.
Coto2
Coto3
- alternativeAlternative form of Cocto (“extinct Chibchan language”).
Origin
- Latinquattuor“four”
- Latinquārtus“a fourth”
- Latincubitum“elbow, Roman cubit”
- Spanishcoto“half-span, quarter-cubit”
- Englishcoto
From Spanish coto (“half-span, quarter-cubit”), supposedly a variant of codo (“Spanish cubit”), from Vulgar Latin forms of Latin cubitum (“elbow, Roman cubit”), but more probably a development of or influenced by Latin quārtus (“a fourth”) from its use as a fourth of the cubit or Latin quattuor (“four”) from its approximation of the span across four fingers.
More words from Spanish, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
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Cite this entry
coto. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coto
“coto.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coto. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coto,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coto.
Source: coto on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.