Etymologically
Log in

coaster

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 23:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkəʊ̯s.tə/[1]
  • US: /ˈkoʊ̯s.tɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English coast + -er,[2][3][4] the agent noun of the verb coast in its sense "to go along the sides or border" of something.[5] The verb comes from Anglo-Norman costien, from the source of the noun coast,[5] Old French coste (“rib, side, flank; coast”), from Latin costa (“rib”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who sails along a coast, or the master of a coasting vessel: 1574, in W. Bourne's Regiment for the Sea.[2][6][5]

Semantic evolution

From 1687 the word was used for the vessel itself, a ship trading from port to port of the same country, which the OED calls the usual sense.[2][5] It also meant a person living by the coast (1612); later regional uses were a European living on the West African coast, a person from the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island (1898), and in the United States a steer raised near the Texas coast (1890).[2][7][6] Johnson (1755) defined a coaster as one who sails timidly near the shore.[8] The sense "a small tray or mat for a bottle or glass" began with a low round silver stand for a decanter, recorded about 1887;[2] Etymonline dates bottle-coaster to 1874 and the drinks mat to 1913, and suggests the decanter stands, which once ran on wheels, were so called because they "coasted" round the table to each guest after dinner.[5] Other senses come from the American verb coast, to slide downhill: a sledge or toboggan (1869), a foot rest for coasting on a bicycle (1895) and a roller coaster (1910).[2][5][3] In Australian slang a coaster was a tramp or idler.[9]

Timeline

  • 1574 – a person who sails along a coast.[2][6]
  • 1612 – a person who lives by the coast.[2]
  • 1687 – a ship trading along a coast.[2]
  • 1869 – US, a sledge for coasting.[2]
  • c. 1887 – a low round tray for a decanter.[2]
  • 1898 – New Zealand, a person from the West Coast.[2]
  • 1910 – US, a roller coaster.[2]
  • 1913 – a mat for a drinking glass.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small mat or disc placed under a glass, cup or bottle to protect a table: Use a coaster for your mug.[7][6][2]
  2. A ship that sails along a coast, trading between ports of the same country.[7][6][2]
  3. A small tray, formerly often on wheels, for a decanter or bottle.[7][2]
  4. (US) A roller coaster.[7][2]
  5. A person who lives by the coast; in New Zealand, a person from the West Coast of the South Island.[7][6][2]
  6. A person or thing that coasts, such as a sled.[7][6][2]

Word family

  • coaster brake

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com