Coastie

noun

Coast·​ie ˈkō-stē 

plural Coasties

chiefly US, informal

: a member of a coast guard

specifically : a member of the U.S. Coast Guard

When a retired Coastie like me opens a book that presumes to tell the story of the U.S. Coast Guard, it is usually with more than a little trepidation.

—Howard Thorsen, United States Naval Institute: Proceedings, November 2009

Word History

Etymology

coast (guard) + -ie

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

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