coat English · revision 5663

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=frk kotta}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /kəʊt/, US /koʊt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English cote, [[bor|fro|cote|t=coat, robe, tunic]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Romance *cotta,^(Hoad 1986) from [[frk|*kotta|t=coarse cloth]] or another Germanic source;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) compare Old Saxon kot “woollen coat”, Old High German chozza “cloak of coarse wool” and German Kotze.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Its ultimate origin is unknown.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Spanish and Portuguese cota and Italian cotta are also Germanic loans.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A man's outer garment, usually of cloth and with sleeves: about 1300 in the OED, about 1330 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A petticoat or skirt worn by women and children is from 1393, the sense kept in [[petticoat]].^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The natural covering of an animal is from the late 14th century, probably about 1390 in ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'',^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and a thin layer of any substance, such as paint, from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The heraldic coat of arms is from about 1340, and the coat of mail from about 1489.^(OED 1989) Coats of the modern form, fitted to the body with loose skirts, appeared under Charles II, according to the Century Dictionary.^(Etymonline) The verb, to provide with a coat, is from before 1376, in ''Piers Plowman'', and to cover with a layer from 1753, in Benjamin Franklin's letters.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) ''Coat-hanger'' is from 1872.^(Etymonline) The coat-card (1560s), a playing card with a figure, was corrupted to court-card in the 1640s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – a man's outer garment.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1340 – a coat of arms.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1393 – a petticoat.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1390 – an animal's coat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1560s – coat-card.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – a layer of a substance.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1753 – to cover with a layer.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1872 – ''coat-hanger''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An outer [[garment]] with sleeves, worn outdoors over other clothes.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[jacket]], especially one forming the top of a suit.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The [[fur]], hair or wool of an animal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[layer]] covering a surface: ''a coat of paint''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover with a layer of something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coated]]

+ * [[coatless]]

+ * [[coater]]

+ * [[basecoat]]

+ * [[bluecoat]]

+ * [[coatdress]]

+ * [[coatee]]

+ * [[coatrack]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[petticoat]]

+ * [[cotta]]

+ * [[coating]]

+ * [[overcoat]]

+ * [[turncoat]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}