costen

C3O1S1T1E1N1
/ˈkɒ.sən/

verb

To try; tempt.

OriginMiddle English costnien ← Old English costnian ← Proto-Germanic *kustōną →
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Meanings

verbcosten (third-person singular simple present costens, present participle costening, simple past and past participle costened)

present singular third person costens · participle present costening · participle past costened · past costened

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo try; tempt.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵews-“to enjoy, taste”
  2. Proto-Germanic*kustōną“to try, taste”
  3. Old Englishcostian“to tempt, try, prove, examine”
  4. Old Englishcostnian
  5. Middle Englishcostnien
  6. Englishcosten

From Middle English costnien, from Old English costnian, subsidiary form of Old English costian (“to tempt, try, prove, examine”), from Proto-Germanic *kustōną (“to try, taste”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵews- (“to enjoy, taste”). Cognate with German kosten (“to taste”). More at choose.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Tecsonsocnet
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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