Category:Cresset

Cres"set (krs"st), n. Etym: [OF. crasset, cresset, sort of lamp or torch; perh. of Dutch or German origin, and akin to E. cruse, F. creuset crucible, E. crucible.]

1. An open frame or basket of iron, filled with combustible material, to be burned as a beacon; an open lamp or firrepan carried on a pole in nocturnal processions. Starry lamps and blazing cressets, fed With naphtha and asphaltus. Milton. As a cresset true that darts its length Of beamy luster from a tower of strength. Wordsworth.

2. (Coopering)

Defn: A small furnace or iron cage to hold fire for charring the inside of a cask, and making the staves flexible. Knight.