cootie
- noun
- /ˈkuːti/
- Archaic
:
piojo
- After playing outside, the children were afraid they might have caught a cootie from the dirt.
Examples
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She caught a cootie from her little brother.
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After the camping trip, Tom discovered a cootie in his sleeping bag.
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Children used to accuse each other of having cooties on the playground.
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During the war, soldiers often complained about cooties in the trenches.
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He thinks he has a cootie on his shirt.
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My brother thinks he has a cootie because he feels itchy all over after the picnic.
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The teacher explained that cooties are just a fun way for kids to describe imaginary germs.
Synonyms
3
6.7
A small insect that lives on hair or fur and drinks blood
A small insect called the body louse that lives on people's bodies and causes strong itching
A small insect that lives in clothing, bites people, and can spread disease
A small insect that lives on the head or body of people and drinks their blood
Idioms
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
Cootie comes from a Malay word kutu that means 'louse', and British soldiers picked up the word when they were in Asia. So cootie came to mean a real parasitic louse, like the English word louse.