costa

See also: Costa, cósta, costá, costà, costâ, and cô ta

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin costa (“a rib”). Doublet of coast.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒ.stə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑ.stə/
• Rhymes: -ɒstə

Noun

costa (plural costas or costae)

1. (anatomy) Synonym of rib.
2. (botany, zootomy) A riblike part of a plant or animal, such as a midrib of a leaf or a thickened vein or the margin of an insect wing.
   1. (entomology) The vein forming the leading edge of most insect wings.

      Synonym: C

Derived terms

• basicosta
• costal
• costapalmate
• costiferous
• costiform
• costovertebral
• subcosta

 

Translations

rib — see rib

See also

• bone
• guarda costa (etymologically unrelated)

References

• “costa”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “costa”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• Ascot, Casto, Coast, Coats, Cotas, Sacto, ascot, catso, coast, coats, octas, scato-, scoat, tacos

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin costa, possibly through the intermediate of another language; compare Spanish costa, Galician costa. Doublet of cuesta.

Noun

costa f (plural costes)

1. shore (land adjoining a large body of water)

Synonyms

• oriella

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈkɔs.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈkɔs.ta]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin costa, from Proto-Indo-European *kost-.

Noun

costa f (plural costes)

1. coast
2. slope
3. rib
4. the underside of an insect's wing

Derived terms

• Costa Brava
• Costa d'Ivori
• Costa d'Or
• Costa Daurada
• Costa del Sol
• Costa Oest dels Estats Units
• costaner
• costejar
• costella
• coster

 

Related terms

• costal
• costàlgia
• costat

Etymology 2

Deverbal from costar. First attested in 1598.

Noun

costa f (plural costes)

1. (law, usually in the plural) cost, expense (to be paid by the losing side)
2. cost, expense

   a costa de ― at the cost/expense of; at (someone's) expense

Etymology 3

Verb

costa

1. inflection of costar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “costa” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “costa”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “costa” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “costa” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

A costa da costa ("a slope by the coast")

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese costa, from Latin costa, from Proto-Indo-European *kost-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔsta̝/

Noun

costa m (plural costas)

1. side; flank
   • 1409, J. L. Pensado Tomé, Tratado de Albeitaria, Santiago de Compostela: Centro Ramón Piñeiro, page 119:

     ffazese nas costas do Cauallo hũa door que faz jnchaço grande et geerase daquel jnchaço carnes podres, et esto ven da sella que he maa ou do gran carrego que o preme moito, et aas vezes dura moito este jnchaço, fazese ende hũa peça de carne poçoenta que chega aos osos et sal vinino ou agooa.

     There appear in the sides of the horse an ache that produces a large swelling and that swelling creates rotten flesh, and this is because of the saddle, that is of poor quality, or from the large load that presses much, and sometimes this swelling last a long time; it then appears a piece of venomous flesh that reaches the bones and pus or water comes out

2. slope
3. coast
4. (anatomy, in the plural) back

   Dóenme as costas

   My back hurts

Derived terms

• Costa
• Costado
• costado
• Costal
• costal
• Costaneira
• costaneiro
• costeira
• Costeira
• costeiro
• Costeiro
• Costela
• Costenla
• gardacostas
• Recosta
• recosta
• recostar

 

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “costa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “costa”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “costa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “costa”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “costa”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔ.sta/
• Rhymes: -ɔsta
• Hyphenation: cò‧sta

Etymology 1

From Latin costa, from Proto-Indo-European *kost-. Cognate with French côte, Romanian coastă, and Spanish cuesta.

Noun

costa f (plural coste)

1. meanings related to the literal sense:
   1. (anatomy, uncommon) rib

      Synonym: costola

   2. (anatomy, by extension, archaic) flank, side

      Synonym: fianco

   3. (by extension, archaic) side, part

      Synonyms: lato, parte

2. (Rome) a cut of meat
3. Synonym of costola:
   1. spine (of a book)

      Synonym: dorso

4. the blunt edge of a blade

   Synonym: dorso

   1. (botany) rib, vein

      Synonym: nervatura

   2. (architecture) rib
   3. (nautical) rib

      Synonym: corba

5. the side of a height
   1. slope (of a mountain)
6. a road going up the side of a hill
7. (in the plural) pastures along the slope of a mountain
8. coast, shoreline
9. welt (of fabric)

Derived terms

• costale
• costeggiare
• costereccio
• costiera
• costiero

Related terms

• costato

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

costa

1. inflection of costare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• costa in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• Tasco, casto, scato-, scota, tosca

Ladin

Verb

costa

1. third-person singular present indicative of coster
2. third-person plural present indicative of coster
3. second-person singular imperative of coster

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *ko(n/r)stā- (“rib”), of uncertain origin. Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *kost-, and compared with Old Church Slavonic кость (kostĭ), Middle Persian [script needed] (kust), as well as *h₃ost- (“bone”), whence os (“bone”). However, de Vaan finds the connection with Slavic improbable and gives no etymology.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkos.ta/, [ˈkɔs̠t̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkos.ta/, [ˈkɔst̪ä]

Noun

costa f (genitive costae); first declension

1. (anatomy) a rib
2. (transferred sense) a side, a wall

   Costae navium.

   The sides of ships.

   Costae aheni.

   The sides of a cauldron.

   Tergora diripere costis.

   To tear off the skin.

Inflection

First-declension noun

	singular	plural
nominative	costa	costae
genitive	costae	costārum
dative	costae	costīs
accusative	costam	costās
ablative	costā	costīs
vocative	costa	costae

Derived terms

• costābilis
• costālis
• costātus
• costella

Descendants

Descendants of costa

• Aromanian: coastã
• → Asturian: costa, cuesta
• → Catalan: costa
• Dalmatian: cuasta
• → English: costa
• Friulian: cueste
• → Galician: costa
• → Italian: costa
• → Occitan: còsta
• → Old French: coste
  • Middle French: coste
    • French: côte
    • Norman: côte
  • Walloon: coisse
  • → Middle English: coste
    • English: coast
  • → Irish: cósta
  • → Middle Dutch: cost
    • Dutch: kust
      • Afrikaans: kus
  • → Middle Low German: kost
    • → Danish: kyst
    • German: Küste
    • → Norwegian Bokmål: kyst
    • → Swedish: kust
• → Portuguese: costa
• Romanian: coastă
• → Romansch: costa
• Sardinian: colta, → costa
• Sicilian: costa
• Spanish: cuesta, → costa
• → Venetan: costa

See also

• os

References

• “costa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “costa”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• costa in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Portuguese

costa

Etymology

From Latin costa (“side, rib”), in later and Medieval Latin coming to mean “edge” or “coast”. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kost-.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔs.tɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔs.tɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔʃ.tɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔs.ta/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔʃ.tɐ/

Noun

costa f (plural costas)

1. coast (shoreline)

   Synonyms: litoral, beira-mar

Derived terms

• Costa do Marfim
• Costa Rica

Related terms

• costado
• costão
• costas
• costear
• costeiro
• costela

 

Romanian

Alternative forms

• коста (costa) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian costare, from Latin constāre, present active infinitive of constō. Doublet of the inherited (now archaic) custa and consta, borrowed directly from Latin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kosˈta/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: cos‧ta

Verb

a costa (third-person singular present costă, past participle costat) 1st conj.

1. to cost

   Synonym: prețui

Conjugation

    conjugation of costa (first conjugation, no infix)

infinitive			a costa
gerund			costând
past participle			costat
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	cost	coști	costă	costăm	costați	costă
	imperfect	costam	costai	costa	costam	costați	costau
	simple perfect	costai	costași	costă	costarăm	costarăți	costară
	pluperfect	costasem	costaseși	costase	costaserăm	costaserăți	costaseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să cost	să coști	să coste	să costăm	să costați	să coste
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		costă			costați
	negative		nu costa			nu costați

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkosta/ [ˈkos.t̪a]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -osta
• Syllabification: cos‧ta

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Galician costa or Catalan costa. Compare also the inherited Spanish doublet cuesta.

Noun

costa f (plural costas)

1. coast, shore, coastline, shoreline

Derived terms

• Costa de Marfil
• Costa del Oro
• Costa Rica
• guardacostas
• mate de costa
• no hay moros en la costa

 

Related terms

• acostar
• costado m
• costal m
• costanero
• costero

 

See also

• litoral m
• orilla f

Etymology 2

Deverbal from costar (“to cost”).

Noun

costa f (plural costas)

1. (in certain expressions) expense, costs

   vivir a costa de ― to live on the expense of

   a toda costa ― at all costs

Derived terms

• a costa de
• a toda costa

 

Related terms

• coste m
• costo m

 

Further reading

• “costa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28