Cottonian
9.9
An old manuscript from Sir Robert Cotton's famous collection
- noun
- /ˌkɒtəniən/
:
cottoniano
- The only copy of this poem known to the literary world is a parchment in quarto format containing sixty-nine leaves in the Cottonian library of the British Museum, marked Vitellius A. IX.
Examples
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The historian examined several Cottonian volumes to better understand the political climate of the time.
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Her research focused on a rare Cottonian text that provided unique perspectives on 17th-century England.
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The Cottonian manuscripts offer invaluable insights into early English literature and history.
Surface Forms
Cottonian singular
Cottonians plural
Morphology
Cottonian = Cotton (semi-transparent) = Cotton + ian
The suffix '-ian' transparently marks association or belonging, but the reference to the Cottonian library is historical and specialized.
Etymology
Cottonian names a book or manuscript from the famous library of Sir Robert Cotton. So calling a manuscript a Cottonian means it belongs to or comes from his collection.
