costard
English
Alternative forms
- coster (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English costard, perhaps from Old French coste (“rib”) + -ard, in reference to its ribbed appearance.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɒs.tə(ɹ)d/
Noun
costard (plural costards)
- (Britain) A large cooking apple.
- The tree on which large cooking apples grow.
- (archaic, humorous) The human head.
- c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, OCLC 55191490, [Act I, scene iv]:
- Take him ouer the coſtard with the hilts of thy ſword,
And then we wil chop him in the malmſey
But in the next roome.
- c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, OCLC 54196469, [Act IV, scene vi]:
- Good Gentleman goe your gate, let poore voke paſſe, and chud haue beene ſwaggard’d out of my life, it would not haue beene ſo long by a fortnight, nay come not neare the old man, keepe out, cheuore ye, or ile trie whether your coſter or my battero be the harder, ile be plaine with you.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene vi], page 304, column 2:
- Good Gentleman goe your gate, and let poore volke paſſe: and ’chud ha’ bin zwaggerd out of my life, ’twould not ha’bin zo long as ’tis, by a vortnight. Nay, come not neere th’old man: keepe out che vor’ye, or ice try whither your Coſtard, or my Ballow be the harder; chill be plaine with you.
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Related terms
- costermonger
French
Etymology
costume + -ard
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔs.taʁ/
Noun
costard m (plural costards)
- (colloquial) suit
Further reading
- “costard”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.