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ter·ra cot·ta or ter·ra·cot·ta or ter·ra-cot·ta

(tĕrə-kŏtə)

a. A hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction.

b. Ceramic wares made of this material.

2. A brownish orange.

[Italian : terra, earth (from Latin; see TERRACE) + cotta, baked, cooked (from Latin cocta, feminine past participle of coquere, to cook; see pek^w- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]

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terra cotta

roof tiles

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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