I wondered, being in Manchester, if it had something to do with attaching cotton to a spool. There is also the phrase 'to get weaving', meaning to get going, to get moving, to start something.
I wondered, being in Manchester, if it had something to do with attaching cotton to a spool. There is also the phrase 'to get weaving', meaning to get going, to get moving, to start something.
>>In 1822, English philologist Robert Nares reported that cotton had been used to mean "to succeed" and speculated that this use came from "the finishing of cloth, which when it cottons, or rises to a regular nap, is nearly or quite complete." The meaning of cotton shifted from "to get on well" to "to get on well together," and eventually to the sense we know today, "to take a liking to." The "understand" sense appeared later, in the early 20th century. <<
David and Jenny: "Cotton on" can have the same "understand" meaning in the U.S., although it's a bit old-fashioned and not much in use. What I don't cotton onto with the brand name is the colon. Just decoration?
I wondered, being in Manchester, if it had something to do with attaching cotton to a spool. There is also the phrase 'to get weaving', meaning to get going, to get moving, to start something.
Here's Merriam-Webster's note on “cotton” (verb):
>>In 1822, English philologist Robert Nares reported that cotton had been used to mean "to succeed" and speculated that this use came from "the finishing of cloth, which when it cottons, or rises to a regular nap, is nearly or quite complete." The meaning of cotton shifted from "to get on well" to "to get on well together," and eventually to the sense we know today, "to take a liking to." The "understand" sense appeared later, in the early 20th century. <<
Interesting, thank you.
David and Jenny: "Cotton on" can have the same "understand" meaning in the U.S., although it's a bit old-fashioned and not much in use. What I don't cotton onto with the brand name is the colon. Just decoration?