cough
pronunciation
How to pronounce cough in British English:
UK [kɒf]
How to pronounce cough in American English:
US [kɔːf]
-
- Noun:
- sudden expulsion of air from the lungs that clears the air passages; a common symptom of upper respiratory infection or bronchitis or pneumonia or tuberculosis
- the act of exhaling air suddenly with a noise
-
- Verb:
- exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
Word Origin
- cough
- cough: [14] Although it is largely disguised by the modern English pronunciation, cough is of onomatopoeic origin. It came from a prehistoric Germanic base *kokh- (the kh pronounced not unlike the ch of loch), which initiated the sound of coughing. This has no recorded Old English descendant (although one probably existed, *cohhian), and first appears in the language as Middle English coughen.
- cough (v.)
- early 14c., coughen, probably in Old English, but not recorded, from Proto-Germanic *kokh- (with the rough "kh" of German or of Scottish loch; cognates: Middle Dutch kochen, Middle High German kuchen). Onomatopoeic. Related: Coughed; coughing. As a noun from c. 1300.
Example
- 1. But some people get a cough that lasts longer .
- 2. How about this cough syrup ?
- 3. Some people actually cough up the larvae .
- 4. Hot cider with lemon and honey for a bad cough ?
- 5. Why some people seem to cough more soon after quitting smoking isn 't clear .