Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1806-1825
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
COAST, COOST, COIST, Cuist, n.2 [kost, kust, kyst]
†1. The side of the body. Coast has been obs. in this sense in Eng. since 17th cent. (N.E.D.).Sc. 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 346:
And round and round about Dushit him coist and bak.
2. "Bodily girth or frame" (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., coast; also Keb.9 1936). Jam.2 and Watson give also the form cuist.Rxb. 1825 Jam.2:
"He has a gude coost," he is strong-bodied.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Coast n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/coast_n2>
