cootie

== English == === Etymology === Probably from Malay kutu (“flea, louse”) (and/or Tagalog/Māori). First attested in English in 1917 as British army slang during World War I. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈkuːti/ Rhymes: -uːti === Noun === cootie (plural cooties) (dated, British Army military slang or Canada, US, colloquial) A louse (Pediculus humanus). (Canada, US, Australia, colloquial, childish, usually in the plural) Any germ or contaminant, real or imagined, especially from the opposite gender (for pre-pubescent children). (rare) A nest-building female American coot (counterpart to cooter). (rare, slang) A sideswiper, a type of telegraph key. ==== Hyponyms ==== (germ or contaminant): boy germ, girl germ ==== Derived terms ==== cootie catcher crazy as a cootie, crazy as a cootie bug ==== Translations ==== === See also === lurgy == Scots == === Etymology 1 === Diminutive of cood possibly influenced by kittie (“a large washing-chamber”). ==== Noun ==== cootie (plural cooties) (obsolete) A wooden dish or tub for kitchen use. ==== References ==== “cood”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC. === Etymology 2 === Possibly from coot (“ankle”). ==== Adjective ==== cootie Having feathers on the legs. a cootie hen ==== References ==== “cootie”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.