COSTON LIGHTS
Cos"ton lights.
Defn: Signals made by burning lights of different colors and used by vessels at sea, and in the life-saving service; — named after their inventor.
COSTOTOME
Cos"to*tome (ks"t-tm), n. Etym: [Costa + Gr.
Defn: An instrument (chisel or shears) to cut the ribs and open the thoracic cavity, in post-mortem examinations and dissections. Knight.
COSTREL Cos"trel (ks"trl), n. Etym: [CF.W. costrel, OF. costrel, LL. costrellum, a liquid measure, costrellus a wine cup.]
Defn: A bottle of leather, earthenware, or wood, having ears by which it was suspended at the side. [Archaic] A youth, that, following with a costrel, bore The means of goodly welcome, flesh and wine. Tennyson.
COSTUME
Cos"tume` (ks"tm` or ks-tm"), n. Etym: [F. costume, It. costume
custom, dress, fr. L. consuetumen (not found), for consuetudo custom.
See Custom, and cf. Consuetude.]
1. Dress in general; esp., the distinctive style of dress of a people, class, or period.
2. Such an arrangement of accessories, as in a picture, statue, poem, or play, as is appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances represented or described. I began last night to read Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel . . . .I was extremely delighted with the poetical beauty of some parts . . . .The costume, too, is admirable. Sir J. Mackintosh.
3. A character dress, used at fancy balls or for dramatic purposes.