Coast sb.

Forms: 4–7 cost(e, 4–6 coost(e, (4 kost(e, coest), 6 coaste, 6– coast; Sc. 6–8 coist. [ME. coste, a. OF. coste (in mod.F. côte) = Pr., It. costa side, border, coast:—L. costa rib, flank or side (of certain things). Some of the senses are expressed in mod.F. by côté, OF. costet:—L. costātum lit. the ribbed (part). The spelling coast is rare bef. 1600, and not found at all in some obs. senses. As the development of the senses had taken place already in French, these do not appear in any linear order in English; thus 9 is not merely related to 8, but also closely to 1, as in side.]

  I.  The side of any body.

  † 1.  The side of the body (of men or animals); the part fortified by the ribs. † By my coste: by my side (quot. 1591). Obs.

  (in late usage perh. referred immediately to L. costa.)

c. 1420.  Anturs of Arth., xlvii. Alle the cost of the knyȝte he keruys doune clene.

1485.  Malory, Arthur, VII. xii. Syr Beaumayns smote hym thorou the cost of the body.

1545.  Raynold, Byrth Mankynde, 7. In eache syde or cost of the belly.

1591.  Spenser, M. Hubberd, 294. This curdog by my coste … will serve my sheepe to gather.

1655–60.  Stanley, Hist. Philos., I. II. 13. Into the lungs, veines, and costs.

  b.  esp. in Sc., where sometimes = ‘trunk, girth.’

c. 1470.  Henry, Wallace, II. 64. The grounden suerd throuch out his cost it schar.

1513.  Douglas, Æneis, II. vi. [v.] 18. Greikis, hid the hors coist within. Ibid., X. iv. 129. In mannys form fra his cost to his crown.

1570.  Sir W. Sinclair, in Chambers, Dom. Ann. Scot., I. 65. It was mair nor twa eln of length, as great as the coist of ane man.

a. 1605.  Montgomerie, ‘O pleasand plant,’ 15. Then quench this fyre, quhilk runneth ay the poste Out throu my cost.

1806.  R. Jamieson, Pop. Ballads & Songs, I. 346. And round and round about Dushit him coist and bak.

  c.  The side of an animal, for cooking.

1536.  Bellenden, Cron. Scot. (1821), I. 48. Half ane cost, to the sercheouris of thevis … two ribbis of the cost to the medcinar.

1671.  True Gentlewomans Delight, 28 (N.). To fry a Coast of Lamb. Take a Coast of Lamb, & parboil, take out all the bones.

1818.  Todd, s.v., We still use the expression of a coast of mutton.

  † 2.  transf. The side (of anything). Obs.

a. 1400–50.  Alexander, 1522. Euen as þe esyngis ȝede ouire be þe costes.

1413.  Lydg., Pilgr. Sowle, V. xiv. (1483), 107. In a round spere … there is neither cost ne corner begynnyng ne ende.

a. 1470.  Tiptoft, Cæsar, v. (1530), 7. They ryde by every coste of the batell castynge dartys.

1578.  Lyte, Dodoens, V. xxviii. 586. The coastes or sides [of the cucumber] be long, and greene at the beginning, & afterward yellow.

1704.  Newton, Opticks (1730), III. 348 (J.). The Rays … would not be refracted towards that Coast rather than towards any other Coast.

  † 3.  A rib of a ship. (F. côte de navire.) Obs.

1625.  B. Jonson, Staple of N., III. ii. (1631), 40. It is an Automa … and has a nimble taile Made like an auger, with which taile she wrigles Betwixt the coasts of a Ship, and sinkes it streight.

  II.  The side of the land, sea-side, country-side.

  4.  The edge or margin of the land next the sea, the sea-shore. a. In the full phrase, coast of the sea, SEA-COAST = sea-side. Formerly sometimes land’s coast.

c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 41. Do mak þre hundreth schippes opon þe sees koste.

1393.  Gower, Conf., III. 296. The ship upon the wawes drofe Till that they se the londes coste.

1398.  Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XIII. xxii. (1495), 455. Grete costes of the see ben callyd Sinus.

c. 1400.  Maundev. (Roxb.), viii. 29. Sum oþer hauens þat er on þa costes of þe see.

a. 1400.  Octouian, 1247. Now folwen we to the wateres cost.

1480.  Caxton, Chron. Eng., II. (1520), 10 b/2. Fast beside a cost of the se.

1552.  Lyndesay, Monarche, IV. 5477. Apone the costis of the see.

1611.  Bible, Matt. iv. 13. Capernaum, which is vpon the Sea coast. See further s.v. SEA-COAST.

  b.  By ellipsis coast. (The ordinary use.)

c. 1325.  E. E. Allit. P., B. 1033. Hit [the Dead Sea] is corsed of kynde & hit coostez als.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, XVI. 553. [They] Saw till thar cost schippes approchand.

c. 1460.  Fortescue, Abs. & Lim. Mon., vi. (1885), 123. Owre ffishers and the dwellers vppon owre costes.

1513.  Douglas, Æneis, III. Prol. 38. By … Vncouth coistis, and mony wilsum strandis Now gois our barge.

1611.  Shaks., Cymb., IV. iii. 25. The Romaine Legions, all from Gallia drawne, Are landed on your Coast.

1635.  N. Carpenter, Geog. Del., I. iii. 66. On the coasts of Norway.

1776.  Withering, Brit. Plants (1796), II. 486. Mr. Atkinson says, ‘The Poppy … I have seen growing in gardens near the coast.’

1865.  Geikie, Scen. & Geol. Scot., iii. 46. The abrupt rocky coast which forms the sea-board.

  c.  The coast is familiarly applied in different regions to specific littoral districts, in India esp. to the Coromandel coast, and thence (in last century) to the Madras Presidency (Yule). Also attrib.

1793.  H. Boyd, Wks., 78 (Y.). The belles of the Coast.

1800.  Wellington, I. 227 (Y.). I have only 1892 Coast and 1200 Bombay sepoys.

1879.  Pollok, Sport in Br. Burmah, I. 26 (Y.). Is it any wonder, then, that the Coast Army has lost its ancient renown?

  † d.  Rarely, the bank of a river or pond. Obs.

1607.  Topsell, Four-f. Beasts (1673), 517. We must keep them [swine] all together by water sides … and, if the coasts be so dry … then must they have water set in troughes.

  e.  To clear the coast, The coast is clear: i.e., of enemies who would dispute an attempt to land or embark; hence ‘the danger is over, the enemies have marched off’ (J.); also, the way is open for an operation, event, etc. See CLEAR v. 10, adj. 20.

1530–84.  [see CLEAR, as above].

1567.  Harman, Caveat, 30. Where these rufflares might well beholde the coaste about them cleare.

1591.  Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., I. iii. 89. See the Coast clear’d, and then we will depart.

1634.  Sanderson, Serm., II. 288. When he is sure the coast is clear, and no body near to enter the lists with him.

1656.  Hobbes, Liberty, etc. (1841), 57. With these distinctions, he says, he clears the coast, whereas in truth he darkeneth his meaning.

1677.  W. Hubbard, Narrative, I. 44. By the end of November the coast was pritty clear of them.

1768–74.  Tucker, Lt. Nat. (1852), II. 121. Having learned to know when the coast is clear, we may sally out boldly to forage for new discoveries.

1868.  Freeman, Norm. Conq., II. ix. 326. The coast was now clear for Godwine’s return.

  † 5.  The border, bound, or limit, of a country; territory on or near a boundary or frontier, borderland. (Chiefly pl.) Obs.

1377.  Langl., P. Pl., B. II. 85. Þe counte of coueitise and alle þe costes [v.r. coostes] aboute.

1382.  Wyclif, Numb. xx. 16. In the cytee of Cades, that is in thin uttermoost coostis.

c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 94. Coste of a cuntre, confinium, ora.

1535.  Coverdale, Matt. ii. 16. In Bethleem & in all the coastes thereof.

1604.  T. Wright, Passions, I. iii. 13. Heere we may beginne, to discover the coasts of Selfe-love.

1611.  Bible, Judg. i. 18. Also Judah tooke Gaza with the coast therof.

a. 1618.  Raleigh, Maxims St. (1651), 19. Leaving none to defend their coast, though being beset with many Enemies.

  † 6.  A tract or region of the earth; a district, place, clime, country, ‘part of the world.’ Obs.

a. 1300.  Cursor M., 24885 (Cott.). All þaa þat in þat ferr cost fard.

c. 1315.  Shoreham, 10. This bethe the wordes of cristninge Bi thyse Englissche costes.

c. 1420.  Pallad. on Husb., I. 295. Thy landes is thus to chese in costes colde.

1483.  Cath. Angl., 77. A Coste; vbi, a kyndome; clima uel climata.

1574.  trans. Marlorat’s Apocalips, 114. He alludeth to the South countries, where the heate of the sunne doth wonderfully anoy suche as dwel in those coasts.

1667.  Milton, P. L., II. 464. While I abroad Through all the coasts of dark destruction seek Deliverance for us all.

  † 7.  A region (of the air or of the heavens). Obs.

c. 1350.  Cursor M., 17916 (Arundel). I … herde a voys fro heuen coost.

c. 1391.  Chaucer, Astrol., I. § 19. Thise Azimutz seruen to knowe the costes of the firmament.

1549.  J. Olde, Erasm. Par. Ephes., II. Introd. 14. The coastes of the ayre.

1594.  Blundevil, Exerc., VI. (ed. 7), 614. The coast or part of heauen, wherein the Sunne or Starre is at that instant.

1631.  Primer our Lady, 477. Send us, from the heavenly coast, Cleerenes of Thy beames so bright.

  † 8.  A point of the compass; quarter, direction.

1377.  Langl., P. Pl., B. XVIII. 113. Out of þe west coste a wenche … Cam walkynge in þe wey.

1382.  Wyclif, Jer. xlix. 36. Y shal brynge in vp on Elam foure wyndus fro the foure coestus of heuene.

1577.  B. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb., IV. (1586), 162 b. Let the front of your Henne house stande alwaies towardes the East, and to that coast let the doore open.

1609.  C. Butler, Fem. Mon., ii. (1623), E iij. Hauing … the foure Coasts, E. S. W. and N., noted in the out-sides.

1642.  Rogers, Naaman, 184. Let the winde turne to another Coast.

1704.  J. Harris, Lex. Techn., s.v. Course, That Point of the Compass, or Coast of the Horizon.

  † b.  spec. in the transplanting of trees: see quot. 1669, and cf. COAST v. 11. Obs.

1664.  Evelyn, Sylva (1679), 20.

1669.  Worlidge, Syst. Agric. (1681), 107. In the removal of such Trees that have arrived to any considerable bigness, it is very expedient to observe the coast and side of the stock, which way it stood before its removal; and … place the same sides to the Coast they tended to before. Ibid. (1676), Cyder (1691), 63.

  † 9.  With the extended sense of SIDE = space lying in any direction from a person or body, quarter; = L. pars, and often capable of being rendered ‘part’; in such phrases as by one (or another) coast; in, from, every (or any) coast. Obs.

c. 1320.  Sir Beues, 1023. Ase he com ride be a cost, Twei kniȝtes a fond of Beues ost.

c. 1325.  Coer de L., 5632. Now sewyd Richard with hys hoost, And closyd hem in, by anothir coost.

14[?].  Purific. Marie, in Tundale’s Vis. (1843), 127.

c. 1450.  Why I can’t be a Nun, 309, in E. E. P. (1862), 146. And now … in euery cost I haue schewed the nunnes gouernawnce.

1513.  Bradshaw, St. Werburge, II. 2032. Euery good dede done in any cost It cometh allonly of the holy gost.

  † 10.  Cf. COAST v. 10, 2 d. Obs.

1615.  Latham, Falconry (1633), 1. The wayes and coasts of birds, and fowls of the aire, are altogether uncertaine.

  III.  repr. F. côte hill-side, slope, declivity.

  11.  (U.S. and Canada.) A (snow- or ice-covered) slope down which one slides on a sled; the act of so sliding down. (Originally local.)

1775.  Lett., in Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., July (1865), 398. Some of our School lads … improved the coast from Sherburn’s Hill down to School Street…. Their fathers before ’em had improved it as a coast from time immemorial.

1872.  L. M. Alcott, Old-fash. Girl, 36. ‘Let’s run,’ said Polly, as they came into the path after the last coast.

1883.  E. M. Bacon, Dict. Boston (Mass.), 19/2. The boys of Boston … are as fond as the boys of the Revolutionary days of the coast on the Common.

1889.  Boston (Mass.) Jrnl., 5 Feb., 73. During a racing contest at a coast in Albany … a loaded bob-sled came in contact with some ice hummocks, breaking the steering apparatus.

  12.  Hence, (through COAST v.) A run down-hill on a bicycle or tricycle, with the feet off the pedals. See COAST v. 13.

1886.  Cyclist’s T. C. Gaz., IV. 137. Mr. Pennell, in the January Gazette, spoke of magnificent ‘coasts’ miles in length.

1887.  Athenæum, 22 Jan., 123/3. Their [tricycle] brake snaps at the top of a steep hill, thus frustrating the anticipated delight of a seven miles ‘coast’ (why have we not got this convenient term?)

1888.  G. B. Thayer, Bicycle Tour (New York World). The only pleasant anticipation I had in the three hours’ climb was the coast that was sure to come.

  IV.  13. attrib. and Comb.: in sense ‘of, pertaining to, or at the sea-coast,’ as coast-belt, -fishing, -fringe, -land, -light, -line, -ridge, -road, -service, -side (cf. country-side), -town, -trade.

1887.  Spectator, 22 Oct., 1413. The long *coast-belt imperfectly settled.

1774.  Hist., in Ann. Reg. (1775), 80/2. To spare the *coast-fishing craft.

1852.  Kingsley, Poems, Andromeda, 197. The downs of the *coastland.

1848.  J. Martineau, Stud. Christianity, 149. A port of traffic, with *coast-lights instead of stars.

1860.  W. G. Clark, Vac. Tour (1861), 38. The road at first follows the *coast-line.

1879.  Froude, Cæsar, vi. 55. The coast line of Pontus extended from Sinope to Trebizond.

1814.  Scott, Wav., xlvi. One of the low *coast-roads to Edinburgh passed through this plain.

1758.  J. Blake, Plan Mar. Syst., 30. They shall also, if on shore, or in *coast-service, be subject to be called upon to serve in the navy without lots, on any sudden or great emergency.

1716.  Wodrow Corr. (1843), II. 121. In all this parish, and all the *coast-side, they lived upon free quarters.

1670.  Eachard, Cont. Clergy, 47. We shall hear of nothing but Star-board and Lar-board, [etc.]… Such a Sermon may possibly do some good in a *Coast-Town.

  14.  Special combs., as coast-blockade (see quot.); coast-cocket, a certificate for the carriage of goods by water along the coast; coast-find (see quot. 1865); coast-ice, the belt of ice formed along a coast in high latitudes, and breaking off in summer; coast-man, one who dwells on the coast; coast-rat, a name for the Sand-mole of S. Africa, a species of Bathyergus; coast-waiter, a custom-house officer who superintends the landing and shipping of goods coastwise; coast-warning, ‘synonymous with storm-signal’ (Adm. Smyth).

1867.  Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., *Coast-blockade, a body of men formerly under the jurisdiction of the Customs, termed Preventive Service … now become the Coast-guard.

1776.  Adam Smith, W. N., V. ii. (1869), II. 499. Goods carried coastwise … require certificates or *coast-cockets.

1865.  Lubbock, Preh. Times, iv. 80. *‘Coastfinds’ are discoveries of rude flint implements, which are found lying in large numbers on certain spots along the old line of coast.

1856.  Kane, Arct. Expl., II. xv. 158. Greenstone … frozen into the *coast-ice of the belt.

1863.  Lyell, Antiq. Man, 363. In the year 1850, much larger blocks had been removed by coast-ice.

1573.  Tusser, Husb. (1878), 86. To *coast man ride, Lent stuffe to prouide.

1594.  Plat, Diuerse New Sorts of Soyle, 59. The Coast-men … doo also bestow that which remaineth of the pilchardes upon their leane and hungrey grounds.

1849.  Sk. Nat. Hist., Mammalia, IV. 98. The *coast-rat, or sand-mole of the downs … is a native of Southern Africa, frequenting sandy tracts along the coast.

1774.  Hull Dock Act, 45. In the presence of a tide surveyor or *coast-waiter.