Word: coaster Part of Speech: noun 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”). Pronunciation: /ˈkəʊ̯s.tə/, /ˈkoʊ̯s.tɚ/, /ˈkʌʊ̯s.tə/ 1. A person who originates from or inhabits a coastal area. Example: 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." 2. A sailor (especially the master or pilot of a vessel) who travels only in coastal waters. Example: 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. Example: 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. 3. A merchant vessel that stays in coastal waters, especially one that travels between ports of the same country. Example: 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. Example: 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. 4. Ellipsis of coaster trout (“the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Lake Superior and Maine”). Labels: Canada, US, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis 5. A cow from the coastal part of Texas. Labels: US Example: 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. Example: 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. 6. A prostitute, especially one of European descent, plying her trade in Chinese port towns. Labels: dated, slang Example: Don't tell me you've never heard of Shanghai Lily! Everybody in China knows her. She is a notorious coaster. Example: 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.