"Costermonger" Definition

Definitions for the word "Costermonger" from multiple English dictionaries.

1. n.
Person who sells produce from a barrow. [costard large apple: related to *costal]
Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 1884
2. slang
a street seller of fish, fruit, vegetables, poultry, &c. The London costermongers number more than 30,000. They form a distinct class, occupying whole neighbourhoods, and were at one time cut off from the rest of metropolitan society by their low habits, general improvidence, pugnacity, love of gambling, total want of education, disregard for lawful marriage ceremonies, and their use of a peculiar slang language. They have changed a good deal of this, though, now. COSTERMONGER _aliter_ COSTARDMONGER, _i.e._, an apple-seller. In Nares’s _Glossary_ (Ed. H. & W.) they are said to have been frequently Irish. So, Ben Jonson— “Her father was an Irish COSTAR-MONGER.” _Alchym._, iv. x. “In England, sir, troth I ever laugh when I think on ’t, ----Why, sir, there all the COSTER-MONGERS are Irish.” _2 P. Hen. IV., O. Pl._, iii. 375. Their noisy manners are alluded to in Beaumont and Fletcher’s _Scornful Lady_, iv. I. “And then he’ll rail like a rude COSTER-MONGER That school-boys had couzened of his apples, As loud and senseless.”
Source: The Slang Dictionary, 1864

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This page provides a list of definitions and meanings for "Costermonger" from various historical English dictionaries. By displaying multiple definitions, you can compare and contrast different meanings and nuances of a word, phrase, or slang. You can also see the changes in meaning of "Costermonger" over time by viewing the definitions from different dictionaries published at different times in history. The page also includes other information to help users expand their vocabulary and understand the context of the word.

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