Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cresset \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.