cresset Meaning, Definition & Usage

Cres"set noun
Etymology
OF. crasset, cresset, sort of lamp or torch; perh. of Dutch or German origin, and akin to E. cruse, F. creuset crucible, E. crucible.
Definitions
  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) A small furnace or iron cage to hold fire for charring the inside of a cask, and making the staves flexible. Knight.

Webster 1913