coistril
coistril noun: an inferior groom or lad employed by an esquire to carry the knight's arms and other necessaries; a coistrel.
Noun
coistril (plural coistrils)
- An inferior groom or lad employed by an esquire to carry the knight's arms and other necessaries; a coistrel.
- A mean, paltry fellow; a coward.
- And he shall 'by his merriment as dear / As ever coistril bought so little sport: / Ne'er let this sword assist me when I need, / But rust and canker after I have sworn.c. 1592, William Shakespeare, Anonymous, Arden of Faversham, act 3, scene 2
- He's a coward and a coistril that will not / drink to my niece till his brains turn o'the toe like a / parish top.c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, act 1, scene 3
Forms of coistril
| plural | coistrils |
|---|---|
| alternative form | coistrel |
| alternative form | coystrel |
| alternative form | coystril |
Origin of coistril
Probably from Old French coustillier (“groom or lad”). Compare custrel.
Questions about coistril
- What does coistril mean?
- Coistril means an inferior groom or lad employed by an esquire to carry the knight's arms and other necessaries; a coistrel.
- What part of speech is coistril?
- Coistril is a noun.
- What is the plural of coistril?
- The plural of coistril is coistrils.
Words near coistril in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: coistril (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “coistril.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/coistril. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.