I. ˈküt, usu -üd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English coote; akin to Dutch koet coot
1. : any of certain sluggish slow-flying slaty-black birds that somewhat resemble ducks, have lobed toes and the upper mandible prolonged on the forehead as a horny frontal shield, and constitute a genus ( Fulica ) of the family Rallidae, the No. American representative ( F. americana ) being distinguished from the common one of the Old World ( F. atra ) by a white wing patch
2. : any No. American scoter ; sometimes : any of several other American ducks — often used with a qualifying word
mud coot
3. : a person often old and harmless and sometimes not bright
poor old coot with no one to look after him — Ruth Park
crazy as a coot
4. : a large purplish blue rail ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) widely distributed in Australia and the islands of the southwestern Pacific especially in marshland and about forest margins — called also bald coot, swamphen
II. ˈkœ̅t noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle Low German kote hoof, fetlock; akin to Middle Dutch cote knuckle, knucklebone, Old Frisian kāte knuckle, Middle Low German kūt entrails, calf of the leg — more at kyte
Scotland : the ankle joint ; also : foot I 1