cist

C3I1S1T1
/ˈsɪst//ˈkɪst/

noun

A small receptacle for sacred utensils carried in festivals in Ancient Greece.

OriginLatin cista ← Ancient Greek κίστη →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

cist1

nouncist (plural cists)

plural cists

  1. historicalAncient GreeceA small receptacle for sacred utensils carried in festivals in Ancient Greece.

cist2

nouncist (plural cists)

plural cists · alternative kist

  1. archaeologyA crypt cut into rock, chalk, or a tree trunk, especially a coffin formed by placing stone slabs on edge and topping them with a horizontal slab or slabs.

    A central stone slab cist containing the burial was surrounded by a circles of stones placed on edge, probably to represent the round house in which the deceased had lived.

    2019, Alan Staniforth, Cleveland Way, page 66

Origin

cist · noun

  1. Ancient Greekκίστη
  2. Latincista
  3. Englishcist

Borrowed from Latin cista, from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē). Doublet of chest.

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

cist · noun

  1. Latincista“chest, casket”
  2. Welshcist“chest”
  3. Englishcist

Borrowed from Welsh cist (“chest”) (see kistvaen), from Latin cista (“chest, casket”), see above.

More words from Welsh, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with cist

listassistexisthististfisttwistconsistwristresistdismissedmistinsistpersistfristcystenlistgistdesistgristLisztcoexistbistpiste
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

cystkissedcystkissed
Cite this entry
APA

cist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cist

MLA

“cist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cist. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cist,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cist.

Source: cist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.