1706, "small piece of meat," especially veal or mutton, cut horizontally from the upper part of the leg, from French côtelette, from Old French costelette "little rib" (14c.), a double diminutive of coste "rib, side," from Latin costa (see coast (n.)); influenced by unrelated English cut (n.).

also cut-purse, "one who steals by the method of cutting purses, a common practice when men wore their purses at their girdles" [Johnson], mid-14c., cutte-purs, from the verbal phrase, from cut (v.) + purse (n.). The word continued after the method switched to picking pockets.

"capable of being cut or removed," mid-15c., from cut (v.) + -able.

late 12c. as a surname, "one who cuts" in any sense, "one who shapes or forms by cutting," agent noun from cut (v.). From 1630s as "instrument or tool for cutting."

As a type of small, single-masted vessel, from 1762, earlier "double-banked boat belonging to a ship of war" (1745); perhaps so called from the notion of moving quickly, or of "cutting" through the water.

Revenue cutter, a light-armed government vessel commissioned for the prevention of smuggling and the enforcement of the customs regulations. Formerly the vessels for the protection of the United States revenue were cutter-rigged, but now the name is applied indiscriminately, although almost all the revenue vessels are steamers, and the few remaining sailing vessels are schooner-rigged. [Century Dictionary, 1889]

c. 1400, "penetrating or dividing by an edge," present-participle adjective from cut (v.). As "wounding or deeply affecting the feelings," 1580s. Related: Cuttingly.

Cutting-edge is by 1825 in the literal sense "cutting surface of a blade or tool" (often at first with reference to plows); figurative sense "highest or most advanced state of development" is from 1964.

mid-14c., "piece cut off;" late 14c., "act or fact of making incisions, action of cutting," verbal noun from cut (v.). Meaning "shoot or small bough bearing leaf-buds" is from 1660s. Meaning "slip cut from a newspaper or other print publication" is by 1856. Related: Cuttings.  Cutting-board is by 1819.

type of cephalopod, 1590s, earlier simply cuttle, from Old English cudele "the cuttlefish;" first element perhaps related to Middle Low German küdel "container, pocket;" Old Norse koddi "cushion, testicle;" and Old English codd (see cod).

1790, "cut short" (adj.), from cut (v.). Also used as a noun of a variety of things: a short spoon, a short tobacco pipe, a pop-gun, also a dismissive term for a naughty or wanton woman or girl. Also used of a wren or a hare.

larvae of certain moths, 1768, from cut (v.) + worm (n.). At night they emerge from the ground and cut off at the surface tender plants.