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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

coaster en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkoʊ̯s.tɚ/ (General-American, Philippines)
  • /ˈkʌʊ̯s.tə/ (New-Zealand)
  • (Australia) audio
  • /ˈkəʊ̯s.tə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From coast (“edge of the land where it meets an ocean, sea, gulf, bay, or large lake”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). Coast is derived from Middle English coste (“rib; side of the body, flank; side of a building; face of a solid figure; coast, shore; bay, gulf; sea; concavity, hollow; boundary, limit; land; country; district, province, region; locality, place; division of the heavens; compass direction; direction; location with reference to direction, side”) [and other forms], from Old French coste (“rib; side of an object; coast”) (modern French côte (“rib; coast; hill, slope”)), from Latin costa (“rib; side, wall”).

Meanings

  1. A person who originates from or inhabits a coastal area.
    • People said, "Eldridge. Of course, he's an old Coaster," and Eldridge, the middle-aged shipping agent, at the beginning of every meal would say, "Chop, as we call it on the Coast," or handing a plate of onions, "Violets, we say on the Coast." 1936, Graham Greene, “The Cargo Ship”, in Journey Without Maps, 1st US edition, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran & Company, →OCLC, part 1, page 27:
  2. A sailor (especially the master or pilot of a vessel) who travels only in coastal waters.
    • If you question a seaman on the subject, whether mere coaster or circumnavigator, he will tell you that in a snow-storm, because of its constant eddyings and gyrations, frequent trimming of sails is more necessary than in any other gale, and that to steer a straight and steady course under such circumstances is for the time simply impossible. 1881 April, “Snow Storm Gales”, in Symons’s Monthly Meteorological Magazine, volume XVI, number CLXXXIII, London: Edward Stanford, […], →OCLC, page 59:
    • Thus, with ſhort Plummets Heav'ns deep will we ſound, / That vaſt Abyſs where humane Wit is drown'd! / In our ſmall Skiff we muſt not launce too far; / We here but Coaſters, not Diſcov'rers are. 1669 June (first performance), John Dryden, Tyrannick Love, or, The Royal Martyr. […], London: […] H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1670, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 43:
  3. A merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters, especially one that travels between ports of the same country.
    • His father was skipper of a small coaster, from Bristol, and dying, left him, when quite young, to the care of his mother, by whose exertions he received a common-school education, passing his winters in school and his summers in the coasting trade, until his seventeenth year, when he left home to go upon foreign voyages. 1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., chapter XXIII, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC, page 245:
    • The single line to Exmouth Docks curves round the back of the goods yard. […] The docks can handle vessels of up to 700 tons; on the day of my visit an English coaster was discharging coal and a Dutch coaster arrived with a cargo of wood pulp from Sweden. 1960 May, R. C. Riley, “The Coastal Branches of South-East Devon: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 298:
    • Overhead, the black flag with the white skull-and-crossbones symbolizing defiance of radio regulations fluttered limply atop the two-hundred-foot mast mounted on the converted coaster from which they operated. 1969, John Brunner, chapter IX, in Double, Double, London: Gateway, Hachette, published 2011, →ISBN:
  4. (Canada, US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of coaster trout (“the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Lake Superior and Maine”).
  5. (US) A cow from the coastal part of Texas.
    • 2021, Ernest Haycox, Karl May, Zane Grey, 50 Westerns But our market required a better quality than coasters and Mexican cattle, and we turned back up the country.
    • The ranch's rangy coasters, the only saleable cattle they then held, could not compete with cattle from a growing number of Midwest farmer-feeders or with competitors stocking the northern ranges. 2020, Michael M. Miller, XIT: A Story of Land, Cattle, and Capital in Texas and Montana, page 119:
  6. (dated, slang) A prostitute, especially one of European descent, plying her trade in Chinese port towns.
    • Once engaged to be married, Lily and Doc [in the film Shanghai Express (1932)] have been separated for more than five years because of Doc's jealous reaction to a ploy Lily had used to test his love. They meet, by chance, on the Shanghai Express. Lily has become a "coaster", a vamp who travels along the China coast looking for men to victimize, and Doc has thrown himself into his work as a British medical officer. 1993, Gina Marchetti, “The Threat of Captivity: The Bitter Tea of General Yen and Shanghai Express”, in Romance and the “Yellow Peril”: Race, Sex, and Discursive Strategies in Hollywood Romance, Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.; London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 59:
    • Gently again, he raised his hand to tap on the smooth white panels of the coaster’s door, but once more his interview with Ruby Braunfeld was postponed. 1933, [Francis] Van Wyck Mason, The Shanghai Bund Murders, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 51:
    • I think you can say this much, that from these traces of callus I'd venture she was once a ballet dancer—and later got her living otherwise—as a coaster perhaps. 1932, [Francis] Van Wyck Mason, The Branded Spy Murders, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 65:
    • Don't tell me you've never heard of Shanghai Lily! Everybody in China knows her. She is a notorious coaster. 1932, Jules Furthman, Shanghai Express:
    • I have studied your astrological chart and it fills me with more concern than hatred. If you stay in China, I fear you will end up a coaster. 2000, Charles Busch, Shanghai Moon: A Comic Melodrama, New York, N.Y.; London: Samuel French, →ISBN:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
coasters Number=Plur lexicographic

Hyponyms

hoy

Synonyms

coasting vessel

Translations (27)

fr caboteur (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · da coaster (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · eo marborda ŝiptrafiko (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · el ακτοπλοϊκό (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · es deslizador (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · ru кабота́жное су́дно (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · sv kustfarare (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · da kystfartøj (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · pl kabotażowiec (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · nl coaster (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · ro cabotier (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · es navegador (de costas) (sailor who travels only in coastal waters) · ja 沿岸貿易船 (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · sl kabotier (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · fi rannikkoalus (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · de Küstenschiff (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · ru поморя́нин (person who originates from or inhabits a coastal area) · eo marborda navigado (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · is strandferðaskip (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · sl obalna trgovska ladja (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · it nave costiera (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · bg кабота́жен кораб (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · it cabotiero (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · da kystskib (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · it cabotiere (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · eo marborduloj (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters) · lb küsteschëff (merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters)

wikipedia: Kiel Canal

coaster en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkoʊ̯s.tɚ/ (General-American, Philippines)
  • /ˈkʌʊ̯s.tə/ (New-Zealand)
  • (Australia) audio
  • /ˈkəʊ̯s.tə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin costa Latin costicāreder. Old French costoierbor. Middle English costeien English coast Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English coaster From coast (“to glide along without adding energy; to make a minimal effort; to slide downhill (especially, to slide on a sled upon snow or ice)”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns). Coast is derived from Middle English costeien (“to travel along a border or coast; to go alongside (something), skirt; to accompany, follow; to travel across, traverse; to be adjacent to, to border;”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman [Term?], Old French costoier (“to be at the side of”) [and other forms] (modern French côtoyer (“to pass alongside; (figuratively) to rub shoulders”)), from Latin costicāre, from costa (“rib; side, wall”); see further at etymology 1. etymology 2 sense 2.1 (“small stand or tray”) is from the fact that the object and the decanter or wine bottle on it “coast” or travel around a tabletop from person to person. etymology 2 sense 2.2.2 (“useless compact disc or DVD”) refers to the fact that the object is only useful as a drink coaster. etymology 2 sense 2.5 (“minibus”) is a genericized trademark from Toyota Coaster. Compare Spanish coaster / cúster.

Meanings

  1. (Australia, slang) Agent noun of coast: one who coasts. ▸ An itinerant person who shirks work but still seeks food and lodging; a loafer, a sundowner.
  2. (US, qualifier:winter sports) Agent noun of coast: one who coasts. ▸ A person who uses a sled or toboggan to slide down a slope covered with ice or snow; a sledder, a tobogganist.
    • It was cold but still, and Polly trotted down the smooth, snow-covered mall, humming to herself, and trying not to feel homesick. The coasters were at it with all their might, and she watched them, till her longing to join the fun grew irresistible. 1869–1870, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Polly’s Troubles”, in An Old-Fashioned Girl, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1870, →OCLC, page 42:
  3. Agent noun of coast: one who coasts. ▸ One who succeeds while making only a minimal effort.
    • In Prashar's opinion, there are two types of manager: "coasters, who coast along in a job, and sprinters, who have a challenge, deal with it and then move on." 2019, Santiago Iñiguez, In an Ideal Business, page 155:
  4. (dated) Something that coasts or is used to coast. ▸ A small stand or tray, sometimes with wheels, used to pass something such as a decanter or wine bottle around a tabletop.
  5. (broadly) Something that coasts or is used to coast. ▸ A small, flat or tray-like object on which a bottle, cup, glass, mug, etc., is placed to protect a table surface from drink spills, heat, or water condensation.
  6. (broadly, slang) Something that coasts or is used to coast. ▸ A useless compact disc or DVD, such as one that was burned incorrectly or has become corrupted.
  7. (US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal) Something that coasts or is used to coast. ▸ Ellipsis of rollercoaster.
    • You can lose hours to tilting, tweaking, and twisting individual sections of a coaster, playing with loops and rolls until it provides maximum thrills without subjecting your visitors to an astronaut's worth of G-force. 2025 February 14, Rick Lane, “Review: Planet Coaster 2”, in PC Gamer (US), number 392, page 68; published online 1 November 2024:
  8. (US, qualifier:winter sports) Something that coasts or is used to coast. ▸ A sled or toboggan.
  9. (Philippines) Something that coasts or is used to coast. ▸ A minibus; small bus (especially Toyota Coaster or in general resembling such regardless of brand name)
    • "O, siya. Basta bilisan mo na riyan." PAKIRAMDAM ni Jhunnica ay inaalat siya nang araw na iyon. Naiwan siya ng service coaster bus na naghahatid at sumusundo sa kanilang mga empleyado ng Stallion Riding Club. Isang exclusive club iyon ng mayayamang mahilig sa kabayo mula sa iba't ibang panig ng bansa. […] 2022 May 18, Sonia Francesca, Stallion Series 2: Eneru Villlasis, Precious Pages Corporation, →ISBN:
    • 5. Tourist Land Transport Vehicle shall refer to bus, coaster, van and catering to tourists with tourist transport service franchise issued by the LTFRB;[…] 2002 January 21, Atty. Wilfredo B. Amiscara, Official Gazette, volume 98, number 3, Quezon City, Philippines: National Printing Office, page 373:
    • coaster (kóws‧ter) png [Ing] 1: maliit na bus 2: maliit na pansapin tulad ng kortso, papel, o mababaw na tray.[…] 2010, Virgilio S. Almario, UP diksiyonaryong Filipino, UP Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, →ISBN, page 235:
    • coaster bus

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
coasters Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

saucer · trivet · pot stand

Deriveds

coasterware · coaster brake · coaster step · megacoaster · beer coaster · hypercoaster

Relateds

tegestology

Synonyms

beer mat · beermat

Translations (79)

fr dessous-de-bouteille (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · ko 코스터 (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · gl pousavasos (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · fi lasinalunen (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · ru подста́вка (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · da ølbrik (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · fi liukuja (one who coasts) · eo subglaso (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · cs podtácek (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · cs tácek (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · bg поста́вка (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · nl viltje (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · sv grytunderlägg (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · id takatan (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · hu poháralátét (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · it sottobicchiere (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · cmn 杯墊 /杯垫 (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · es bandeja (con ruedas) (small stand or tray used to pass something around a tabletop) · fr sous-verre (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · ga mata (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · kw straylyk (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · el σουβέρ (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · cs podložka (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · sv karottunderlägg (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · bg подло̀жка (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · pl serwetka (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · da coaster (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · nb flaskebrikke (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · sv underlägg (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · es disco (de mierda) (useless compact disc or DVD) · is glasmotta (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · ja コースター (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · id takatan minum (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · da rullebord (small stand or tray used to pass something around a tabletop) · fi liukuri (something that coasts or is used to coast) · pt bolacha (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · da glasbrik (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · nl onderzetter (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · vi lót cốc (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · fi kelkka (something that coasts or is used to coast) · ko 컵받침 (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · pl podstawka (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · sv kälke (something that coasts or is used to coast) · hu frizbi (useless compact disc or DVD) · it sottocoppa (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · gl portavasos (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · ca rodal (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · pt bolacha de chope (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · id takatan bir (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · pl podkładka (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · fi alunen (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · sv släde (something that coasts or is used to coast) · ca sotacopa (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · he תחתית (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · pl bezideowiec (one who coasts) · es posavasos (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · de Bierdeckel (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · el ακτοπλόος (one who coasts) · it sottobottiglia (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · be падста́ўка (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · es costero (one who coasts) · fr dessous de verre (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · it tondino (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · yue 杯墊 /杯垫 (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · fi liuku (something that coasts or is used to coast) · uk підста́вка (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · pt porta-copos (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · bg подста́вка (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · cy mat diod (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · sv ölunderlägg (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · ca sotagot (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · vi giấy lót li (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · hu söralátét (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · fi tarjoiluvaunu (small stand or tray used to pass something around a tabletop) · gl apoiavasos (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · id takatan minuman (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · is diskamotta (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · nrf natte à biéthe (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface) · de Untersetzer (small object on which a cup, etc., is placed to protect a table surface)

wikipedia: Universal Studios Japan · wikipedia: Hollywood Dream – The Ride · wikipedia: Toyota Coaster