Adjectival use ofcourse that diverged in spelling in the 18th century. The sense developed from '(following) theusual course' (cf.of course) to 'ordinary, common' to 'lacking refinement', with 'not fine, granular' arising from its application to cloth. Compare the development ofmean.
Two hundred Sempſtreſſes were employed to make me Shirts, and Linen for Bed and Table, all of the ſtrongeft andcoarſeſt kind they could get; which, however, they were forced to quilt together in ſeveral Folds, for the thickeſt was ſome degrees finer than Lawn.
Composed of large particles.
coarse sand
1908, Harry Snyder,Human Foods and their Nutritive Value[1], New York: Macmillan,section 157, pp. 145-146:
Graham flour is coarsely granulated wheat meal. No sieves or bolting cloths are employed in its manufacture, and manycoarse, unpulverized particles are present in the product.
2012, Paul E. Potter, James Maynard, Wayne A. Pryor,Sedimentology of Shale: Study Guide and Reference Source[2]:
Missing units may be attributed to either the lack of proper sized material in the source or the successive, downcurrent sedimentation of thecoarser materials first and the finer materials last.
1791,John Walker,A Critical Pronouncing Dictionary[…][3], London: Sold by G. G. J. andJ. Robinſon, Paternoſter Row; and T.Cadell, in the Strand,→OCLC, page211:
☞ This word [earth] is liable to acoarſe vulgar pronunciation, as if writtenUrth;[…]
2007, Charles Dickens,A Tale of Two Cities, Penguin,→ISBN, page34:
The butcher and the porkman painted up only the leanest scrags of meat; the baker, thecoarsest of meagre loaves.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
