Illustration of cotton
- 1 flowering branch
- 2 fruit (unopened)
- 3 fruit (partly opened)
often attributive
1
a
: a soft usually white fibrous substance composed of the hairs surrounding the seeds of various erect freely branching tropical plants (genus Gossypium) of the mallow family
b
: a plant producing cotton
especially
: one grown for its cotton
c
: a crop of cotton
2
a
: fabric made of cotton
b
: yarn spun from cotton
3
: a downy cottony substance produced by various plants (such as the cottonwood)
cottoned; cottoning
ˈkät-niŋ,
ˈkä-tᵊn-iŋ
1
: to take a liking
—used with to
cottons to people easily
2
: to come to understand
—used with to or on to
… cottoned on to the fact that our children work furiously …—H. M. McLuhan
Did you know?
The noun cotton, from the Arabic word quṭun or quṭn, first appeared in English in the 14th century. The substance and the word that named it were soon both culturally prominent, so English did a very English thing to do—it created a verb from the noun. By the late 15th century, cotton could mean “to form a fuzzy or downy surface on (cloth).” This verb sense (as well as other cotton-related verb meanings) is a lexical dust bunny at this point, but our modern-day uses spun from it. By the mid 16th century cotton could mean “to go on prosperously, to develop well, to succeed.” The metaphor is not difficult to see, as cotton cloth with a nice nap has indeed developed well. By the early 17th century, the verb had shifted again, and cottoning was, as it still often is, about taking a liking to someone or something. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that someone who cottoned to or on to something had come to understand it.
Cite this Entry
“Cotton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cotton. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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