Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A flat, pear-shaped drinking vessel with loops for attachment to the belt of the user.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A flask, flagon, or bottle; specifically, such a vessel of leather, wood, or earthenware, often of a flattened form, and generally with ears by which it may be suspended, used by British laborers in harvest-lime. Sometimes called pilgrim's bottle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Archaic A bottle of leather, earthenware, or wood, having ears by which it was suspended at the side.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun archaic A bottle of leather, earthenware, or wood, having ears by which it was suspended at the side.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French costerel, possibly from costier, at the side, from coste, rib, from Latin costa; see kost- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Compare Welsh costrel, Old French costrel, Latin costrellum, a liquid measure, costrellus a wine cup.

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Examples

  • And, behold! the maiden came back, and a youth with her, bearing on his back a costrel full of good purchased mead and a quarter of a young bullock.

    The Mabinogion Vol. 2 (of 3) Owen Morgan Edwards 1889

  • And, behold! the maiden came back, and a youth with her, bearing on his back a costrel full of good purchased mead, and a quarter of a young bullock.

    The Mabinogion Anonymous 1853

  • And, behold, the maiden came back, and a youth with her, bearing on his back a costrel full of good purchased mead, and a quarter of a young bullock.

    The Age of Fable Thomas Bulfinch 1831

  • And, behold, the maiden came back, and a youth with her, bearing on his back a costrel full of good purchased mead, and a quarter of a young bullock.

    The Age of Chivalry Thomas Bulfinch 1831

Comments

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  • a flask vessel made of earthenware, leather, or wood that is attachable to one's belt/waist by ears (hoops) on one or both sides of the vessel.

    Originated around 1350-1400s

    October 2, 2007

  • "And, behold, the maiden came back, and a youth with her, bearing on his back a costrel full of good purchased mead, and a quarter of a young bullock."

    - Thomas Bulfinch, 'Age of Fable'.

    September 19, 2009

  • A wonderful vessel, the neti pot,

    A tool every New Ager's got:

    A sort of a costrel

    You stick up your nostril

    To sluice out your stubbornest snot.

    September 13, 2016