cotter

Etymology 1

Unknown

noun

  1. (mechanical engineering) A pin or wedge inserted through a slot to hold machine parts together.
    The chains are secured to each end of the cast-iron arches by cotters. 1949 November and December, “Notes and News: The High Level Bridge, Newcastle”, in Railway Magazine, page 407
  2. (informal) A cotter pin.

verb

  1. (transitive) To fasten with a cotter.

Etymology 2

From Middle English cotter, cotere, kottere, koter, cotier, equivalent to cot (“cottage”) + -er, from Old English cot. Compare Old French coter, cotier.

noun

  1. (historical) A peasant who performed labour in exchange for the right to live in a cottage.
    The toil-worn Cotter frae his labour goes,— / This night his weekly moil is at an end,— / Collects his spades, his mattocks, and his hoes, […] 1786, Robert Burns, The Cotter's Saturday Night

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