Meaning

adjective along or following a coast

adverb by way of, or along the coast

originEtymology tree Latin costa Latin costicāreder. Old French costoierbor. Middle English costeien English coast Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *weyd-s-ós Proto-Germanic *wīsaz Proto-Germanic *-wīsaz Proto-West Germanic *-wīs Old English -wīs Middle English -wis English -wise English coastwise From coast + -wise.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0