1. One who lives in a cottage.
2. (Law)
Defn: One who lives on the common, without paying any rent, or having land of his own.
COTTER; COTTAR Cot"ter, Cot"tar (kt"tr), n. Etym: [LL. cotarius, cottarius, coterius. See Cot.]
Defn: A cottager; a cottier. Burns.
Through Sandwich Notch the West Wind sang Good morrow to the cotter.
Whittier.
COTTER
Cot"ter (kt"tr), n.
1. A piece of wood or metal, commonly wedge-shaped, used for fastening together parts of a machine or structure. It is driven into an opening through one or all of the parts.
Note: [See Illust.] In the United States a cotter is commonly called a key.
2. A toggle.
COTTER
Cot"ter, v. t.