Kot (lodging)


A kot is a type of student housing privately rented during the academic or school year in Belgium. The word kot is used in both Belgian Dutch and Belgian French, but not in standard Dutch or standard French.

Etymology

The word comes from Flemish and means small shelter, nest, cabin. It can also even refer to slums. This term specifically used in Belgium refers to a cupboard and by extension any small room such as a student room. It emphasizes the narrow aspect which is typically encountered in such housing.
These kots can be either individual or part of a shared house, in which a certain area is public casually called "commu".
The word kot is still in use in the Dunkirk dialect, pronounced “kotsheu“, meaning a shed, a garden shed, a junk room.
Derived words include:
Some community kots take part in a project, in particular in Louvain-la-Neuve. These "project kots" offer a large variety of activities. The project could be organizing a weekly spaghetti party, homework support, supporting a humanitarian organization. The only boundary is the creativity in management skills and the ability to bring people together.