“coasts” is a form of
coast
UK /kəʊst/ · US /koʊst/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms coasts coasting coasted the Coast
- noun The edge of the land where it meets an ocean, sea, gulf, bay, or large lake. “The rocky coast of Maine has few beaches.”
- noun (obsolete) The side or edge of something.
- noun (obsolete) A region of land; a district or country.
- noun (obsolete) A region of the air or heavens.
- verb (intransitive) To glide along without adding energy; to allow a vehicle to continue moving forward after disengaging the engine or ceasing to apply motive power. “When I ran out of gas, fortunately I managed to coast into a nearby gas station.”
- verb (intransitive, nautical) To sail along a coast.
- verb (intransitive, figurative) To make a minimal effort; to continue to do something in a routine way, without initiative or effort.
- verb (intransitive, obsolete) To draw near to; to approach; to keep near, or by the side of.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To sail by or near; to follow the coastline of.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To conduct along a coast or river bank.
- verb (US, Canada, dialect) To slide downhill; to slide on a sled upon snow or ice.
- proper noun A region of British Columbia, Canada.
Synonyms
hug the coastline British Columbia Coast BC Coast B.C. Coast B. C. Coast Coast of British Columbia Coast of BC Coast of B.C. Coast of B. C. seashore seacoast sea-coast slide glide
Etymology
From Middle English coste (“rib; side of the body”), from Old French coste (“rib; side of an object; coast”) (modern French côte (“rib; coast; hill, slope”)), from Latin costa (“rib; side, wall”). Doublet of costa.
Compare typologically cape < Latin caput, ness (akin to nose), Bulgarian нос (nos, “nose; …; cape, promontory, foreland, gore”), Macedonian ’рт (’rt), Serbo-Croatian рт (“cape, promontory, headland”) < Proto-Slavic *rъtъ (whence Russian рот (rot)).
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”) […] (modern French côtoyer (“to pass alongside; (figuratively) to rub shoulders”)), from Latin costicāre, from Latin costa (“rib; side, wall”); see further at etymology 1.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The side of a thing. [Obs.] Sir I. Newton.
- noun The exterior line, limit, or border of a country; frontier border.
- verb To draw or keep near; to approach. [Obs.]
- verb To sail by or near the shore.
Etymology [OF. coste, F. côte, rib, hill, shore, coast, L. costa rib, side. Cf. Accost, v. t., Cutlet.]
Etymology [OE. costien, costeien, costen, OF. costier, costoier, F. côtoyer, fr. Of. coste coast, F. côte. See Coast, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “coast”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details