Cres"set (kr?s"s?t), n. [OF. crasset, cresset, sort of lamp or torch; perh. of Dutch or German origin, and akin to E. cruse, F. creuset crucible, E. crucible.] 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.