Crēs'set, n.

noun

n. [Fr. croisette, diminutive of croix, cross, because beacons formerly had crosses on their tops. See CROSS.]

Sense 1. An open lamp, filled with combustible material, placed on a beacon, lighthouse, &c., or carried on a pole; any great light.

Many a row Of 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.

Sense 2. A kitchen utensil for setting a pot over a fire. [Prov. Eng.] Ogilvie.

Two cressets are shown, one upright and one mounted in a forked support.
Cressets.