Middle English Dictionary Entry
sester n.
Entry Info
| Forms | sester n. Also sexter, -tur, (in cpd.) cestre-, sister- & (early infl.) sesterne & (error) serter; pl. sesters, -tres, -ter, sexter, (early dat.) sest(e)rum. |
| Etymology | OE sester, syster, LOE seoxter; also cp. AL sestera, sextera, cestrus (vars. of L sextārius) & OF sestiere, sestere, sextere, AF cestre. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
Note: Cp. sextari(e n.
1.
(a) A vessel for holding liquid; ?a brewing vat [2nd quot.]; (b) a liquid measure; ~ ful; (c) a dry measure; (d) ~ peni, an annual tax imposed upon commercial brewers of beer.
Associated quotations
a
- c1225(OE) Wor.Aelfric Gloss.(Wor F.174)549/5 : Anfora: sester.
- (1341) Acc.R.Dur.in Sur.Soc.100542 : In 2 novis Sestres factis de novo pro bracina, 20 d.
b
- a1150(?OE) Vsp.D.Hom.(Vsp D.14)24/32 : Me brohte heom þa to sesterfulne wæteres.
- ?a1200(OE) Hrl.HApul.(Hrl 6258B)137/13 : Wið wæter-seocnysse nim þisse wyrte wurtewalan..& wines heafne serter [read: sester].
- ?a1200(OE) Hrl.HApul.(Hrl 6258B)165/19 : Wyd blæddra sore nim þisse wyrt feniculum..& wæteres anne sesterne [OE anne sester] fulle.
- ?a1200(OE) Hrl.MQuad.(Hrl 6258B)237/7 : His braȝen ȝeseoð on þrym sestrum eles on niwen croccen to ðat þryddan dæl si bewealled.
- ?a1200(OE) Hrl.MQuad.(Hrl 6258B)263/6 : Wid spiw[þ]an & wlætan & nappunge nim bæres ȝelinde & seoð on þrim sesterum wæteres.
- ?a1200(?OE) PDidax.(Hrl 6258b)5/15 : Nim litargio twentiȝe scillinga ȝewyht and..anne healfne sester ecedes.
- (?1440) Palladius (DukeH d.2)2.410 : In half a sester [vr. sexter] agyn [read: aged] wyn do shake.
- (?1440) Palladius (DukeH d.2)3.1094 : Six sester [L sextarios] old wyn do to mirtes bayis v pound & hem to geder al to shake.
- (?1440) Palladius (DukeH d.2)8.138 : I [vr. In] sestris [vr. sestres] xij of aysel that sour hard is, A pound and vncis sixe yshrad be do.
- ?c1450 Stockh.PRecipes (Stockh 10.90)30/22 : Putte þer-inne a mesure þat men clepyn a sextur of wyn.
c
- a1150(OE) Vsp.D.Hom.(Vsp D.14)39/6 : Him [Bel] man..sealde..twelf sestres melewes to his metsunge.
- (?1440) Palladius (DukeH d.2)4.56 : Panyk and mylde in hoot & drie is sowe..And wede hem wel..v sester [vr. sexter] shal suffice an aker lond.
- (?1440) Palladius (DukeH d.2)8.148 : A sester and a semycicle take Of senuey seed.
d
- (1328) Court R.Great Waltham in Ess.R.13203 : Every copieholder that doeth brewe bere or ale to sell shall paye yerely in the moneth of harvest one penye called Cestre-penye.
- (1421) Court R.Great Waltham in Ess.R.13203 : [Seven copyholders had brewed and themselves retailed their beer, so owing the king..1 d. each by the custom called] Systerpeny.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- (c1273) Hundred R.Tower 2787b : Debet metere ad ij bederipp..& dabit tollcester.
- (1301) Pipe R.Chs.in LCRS 92204 : Pro quadam custuma dicta Tolcestre de Haliwell..xxvj s. viij d.
Note: New spellings: -cester and -cestre. Note that both of these are in compounds.--per MLL
Note: Add compound tol ~ and quots to sense (d).--per MLL
Note: See MED tol n.(1), sense 3.: ~ sester = a toll on the brewing and selling of beer, usu. paid with sesters, or measures of beer.