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costa

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English has two words spelled costa: a scientific term for a rib, from Latin, and a jocular one for a stretch of coast, from Spanish, both going back to Latin costa.[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒ.stə/ (UK); /ˈkɑ.stə/ (US)[3]

costa1 rib

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin costa (“rib, side, wall”), also the source of English coast.[4][1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Latin word for rib, applied in natural history and physiology: 1866 in the OED, the mid-19th century in NODE and SOED;[6][7][1] MWU dates it to 1771.[4]

Semantic evolution

In botany and zoology it is used of rib-like structures, especially the midrib of a leaf and the front vein of an insect's wing.[1][5][8]

Timeline

  • 1771 – first use (MWU).[4]
  • 1866 – in natural history.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (anatomy) A rib.
  2. (botany, zoology) A rib-like part, such as the midrib of a leaf or the front vein of an insect's wing.

Word family

  • costal
  • intercostal

costa2 jocular coast

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish costa (“coast”), from the same Latin source as English coast,[2][1] as in the resort names Costa Brava and Costa del Sol.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first part of humorous pseudo-place-names: 1968 in the OED;[6] used in Britain from the 1960s.[2]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline cites jocular formations such as costa geriatrica and costa del crime, in imitation of Spanish tourist destinations.[2] SOED labels it jocular, a coast.[1]

Timeline

  • 1960s – jocular pseudo-place-names.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (jocular, British) A coast or coastal resort area, in humorous imitations of Spanish place-names: the Costa del Crime.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin