What does coster mean?
A coster is a street seller of fruit and vegetables — typically a London tradesman working from a barrow or cart — and the word is a familiar shortening of 'costermonger', which itself comes from 'costard', a large variety of English apple once sold in this way. The term belongs firmly to the vocabulary of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Britain, when costers were a recognisable social class with their own dress, slang, and traditions, documented by writers such as Henry Mayhew. Today 'coster' survives mainly in historical, literary, or affectionately nostalgic contexts; a contemporary reader would more likely encounter 'barrow boy' or 'market trader' for the same occupation. Because of its distinctive sound and its charmingly edible origin, the word remains a favourite shorthand for the bustling street markets of old London, and it is worth knowing both for its meaning and for the slice of urban history packed into its two syllables.
nounA coster is a person who sells fruit and vegetables from a barrow or stall in the street, especially in London; it is a shortened form of 'costermonger'.
- A street seller of fruit and vegetables, especially one working from a barrow or handcart (short for 'costermonger'); used chiefly of London vendors of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
"The old photographs show costers crying their wares across the cobbled streets of Victorian London."
"A cheerful coster wheeled his barrow through the market square, calling out the price of his spring greens."
"In Mayhew's accounts of Victorian London, the costers emerge as a distinct class with their own slang, dress, and donkey carts."
Regular plural; commonly used when discussing the costers as a social group, as in accounts of Victorian London street life.
"The costers gathered their donkeys and carts at the edge of the market before dawn."
London's fruit-and-veg sellers got their name from an apple: the costard, a once-famous English apple that gave us both 'coster' and 'costermonger'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coster
Coster arose as an informal clipping of 'costermonger', a term recorded in English by at least the early sixteenth century. Costermonger combines 'monger' (a seller) with 'costard', a large variety of apple grown in England since the medieval period, so the word literally denotes a seller of apples and other produce. As the trade became associated with London's street markets, the shortened form 'coster' gained wide currency in the nineteenth century, appearing in the work of journalists and social investigators who described the costers' distinctive culture.
How coster is actually used
The word is now chiefly British and largely historical or literary; modern usage favours 'market trader' or 'street vendor'. It carries colourful, nostalgic connotations of old London street life, often evoked in writing about the Victorian era.
Easily confused with coster
A costard was a large variety of cooking apple from which the word 'coster' ultimately derives; a coster is the person who sold goods in the street.
A coaster is a small mat for standing drinks on, or a ship trading along a coast — unrelated to a street seller despite the near-identical sound.