sester Now only Hist.
(ˈsɛstə(r))
Also 4 cestre, sesster, 6 cester, sestur.
[OE. sester (also seoxter) and AF. sester = OF. sestier:—L. sextārium sextar, sextary.
Cf. OS. soster, suster, Du. sester, sister, MLG. sestere, OHG. sehtari and sextari (MHG. sehtere and sehstere, G. sechter, sester). See also septier.]
† 1. A vessel for holding liquid; in OE. a jar, pitcher; in ME. ? a brewing-vat. Obs.
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 122/30 Amfora, sester. c 1000 ― Judges vii. 16 Gedeon..het heora ælcne ᵹeniman anne æmtiᵹne sester oððe ænne wæterbuc to þam ᵹewinne forð. c 1341 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 542 In 2 novis Sestres factis de novo pro bracina, 20d. 1347–8 Ibid. 546 In 2 Cestris novis fact. et ferro ligand. pro bracina, 2s. 10d. |
2. A liquid measure for beer, wine, etc.
In OE. rendering L. modius, cadus, metreta, and sextarius.
| 909 in Thorpe Charters (1865) 158 Twelf seoxtres beoras. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John ii. 6 Stænino fatto..niomende syndriᵹe sestras tuoeᵹe uel ðrea [Ags. Gosp. ælc wæs on tweᵹra sestra ᵹemete oððe on þreora]. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 92 Tweᵹen sestres sapan, & tweᵹe hunies & þre sestres ecedes, & se sester sceal weᵹan twa pund. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 410 In half a sester [L. heminam] aged wyn do shake. 1494 in Househ. Ord. (1790) 113 Then yee must goe to the servant of the seller, and warne him to make readie..as many sesteres of wine as yee thinke will serve the people. 1528 Coventry Leet Bk. 696 No bruer..frome-hensfurth shall sell eny ale within this Citie by the Cester aboue ij s. 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Demy Sétier,..halfe sester. |
b. † sester-penny, ? a charge made upon every sester of beer brewed.
| 1328 in Essex Rev. XIII. 203 Every copieholder that doeth brewe bere or ale to sell, shall paye yerely in the moneth of harvest one penye called Cestre-penye. |
3. A dry measure for wheat, etc.
In mod. use only Hist. with reference to O.E. Chron. an. 1043, On þisum wæs..corn swa dyre..swa þæt se sester hwætes eode to .lx. peneᵹa & eac furðor.
| c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 444/4 Mine, healfsester. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. viii. 148 A sester and a semycicle take Of senuey seed. 1707 Bp. Fleetwood Chron. Prec. 65 A Sester or Sextarius was what we now call a Quarter, or a Seam, containing 8 Bushels. [1848 Petrie tr. Ags. Chron. 433.] |