cotter

• Rhymes: -ɒtə(r)

cotter (plural cotters)

1. (mechanical engineering) A pin or wedge inserted through a slot to hold machine parts together.
2. (informal) a cotter pin.

The terms cotter and "cotter pin" are sometimes used interchangeably, although they have different functions. For a more detailed explanation see Wikipedia articles on cotter pin, cotter (pin), and split pin.

• cotter pin

cotter (third-person singular simple present cotters, present participle cottering, simple past and past participle cottered)

1. (transitive) To fasten with a cotter.

Equivalent to cot (“cottage”) +‎ -er, from Old English cot.

• cottar

cotter (plural cotters)

1. A peasant who performed labour in exchange for the right to live in a cottage.

• coscet
• cottager