Colgate

English

Etymology

The toothpaste brand was named after the company founder, William Colgate. The surname derives from the place name, which is probably from Old English col (“coal”) and ġeat (“gate”).
The Philippine sense is a genericized trademark from the toothpaste brand, Colgate. Compare Cebuano kulgit.

Proper noun

Colgate (countable and uncountable, plural Colgates)

1. A village and civil parish in Horsham district, West Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ2332).
2. A habitational surname from Old English.
   • 1941, Agatha Christie, Evil Under the Sun:

     Poirot's lips moved. Inspector Colgate leaned forward. Poirot was murmuring, "It's so difficult to know which pieces are part of the fur rug and which are the cat's tail."

3. A particular brand of toothpaste.
   • 2012, Linda Joffe Hull, The Big Bang, page 13:

     The base of her electric toothbrush fell onto its side as she yanked a little too hard and squirted on a blob of Colgate. As the bristles met her front teeth, she savored the mint flavor on her tongue like peppermint candy.

Descendants

• → Dutch: Colgate
  • → Aukan: golugeiti (“toothpaste”)

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Colgate is the 35345^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 637 individuals. Colgate is most common among White (92.78%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Colgate”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 354.

Noun

Colgate (uncountable)

1. (Philippines, slang) toothpaste

Anagrams

• gelcoat