Dutch and North German: status name for a sexton, Middle Dutch
coster(e). Compare German Kuster.
North German
(Köster): occupational nickname or status name for a day
laborer who owned no land, from Middle Low German koster, from
kossater ‘cottager’.
South German: occupational name for a
wine taster, from kosten ‘to taste’.
Jewish
(Ashkenazic): occupational name for a grocer or provisioner, from
German Koster ‘provisions’, ‘foodstuffs’ + the agent suffix
-er.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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