Past tense of cough; made a sudden forceful expulsion of air from the lungs, usually to clear the throat.
From Old English 'cohhetan,' possibly imitative in origin, meaning to expel air forcefully. The word's exact roots are unclear, but similar sounds exist in Germanic languages, suggesting it may derive from onomatopoeia.
Coughing is such an old sound that languages copied the actual noise itself to name it—'cough' literally echoes the sound your body makes! Medieval doctors used the sound of a cough to diagnose diseases, so this humble word was once diagnostic equipment.
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