Meaning

noun a peasant farmer in the Scottish Highlands

noun a medieval English villein

noun fastener consisting of a wedge or pin inserted through a slot to hold two other pieces together

originFrom Middle English cotter, cotere, kottere, koter, cotier, equivalent to cot (“cottage”) + -er, from Old English cot. Compare Old French coter, cotier.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0