costard

American  

[kos-terd, kaw-sterd] / ˈkɒs tərd, ˈkɔ stərd /

noun

1. a large English variety of apple.

2. Archaic. the head.

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costard British  

/ ˈkʌstəd /

noun

1. an English variety of apple tree

2. the large ribbed apple of this tree

3. archaic a slang word for head

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Etymology

Origin of costard

1250–1300; Middle English, perhaps < Anglo-French, equivalent to coste rib ( coast ) + -ard -ard, alluding to the ridges or ribs of the variety

Example Sentences

"Brast your costard, have I? Well, it serves you right, for all your mischief. What are you up to, scuttling about behind the stage like a great rat?"

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

A blow: as, I took him a nope on the costard.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis

But tell me; how was there a costard broken in a shin?

From Love's Labour's Lost by Shakespeare, William

And they point to the costard he bears in his mouth, And vow the huge pig, So luscious a fig, Would not gather to grunch in the daintiful South!

From The Baron's Yule Feast: A Christmas Rhyme by Cooper, Thomas

Whereby I have now once again given the costard monger his pees and his cues.

From Anna St. Ives by Holcroft, Thomas