King Cotton
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Cotton, the staple of the Southern States of America, and one of the chief articles of manufacture in England.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “King Cotton” mean?
Cotton, the staple of the Southern States of America, and one of the chief articles of manufacture in England.
Is “King Cotton” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.