costen
/ˈkɒ.sən/obsolete
costen is spelled C-O-S-T-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 95 million words in written English, the 313,259th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, costen means “To try; tempt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in costen?
| Letters | 6: C-O-S-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 95 million words; the 313,259th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is costen?
Costen appears about once in every 95 million words in written English, the 313,259th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce costen?
- /ˈkɒ.sən/
Costen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of costen
- costens present, singular, he/she/it
- costening participle, present
- costened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does costen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo try; tempt.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does costen come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).