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coxswain

 - 3 dictionary results

cox⋅swain

[kok-suhn, -sweyn]
–noun
1. the steersman of a racing shell.
2. a person who is in charge of a ship's boat and its crew, under an officer, and who steers it.
Also, cockswain.


Origin:
1425–75; late ME cokeswayne. See cockboat, swain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cox·swain   (kŏk'sən, -swān')   
n.  
  1. A person who usually steers a ship's boat and has charge of its crew.

  2. A person in a racing shell who usually directs the rest of the crew.

intr. & tr.v.   cox·swained, cox·swain·ing, cox·swains
To act as coxswain or serve as coxswain for.

[Middle English cokswaynne : cok, cockboat; see cockboat + swain, servant; see swain.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

coxswain 
1327, from cock "ship's boat" (from O.Fr. coque "canoe") + swain "boy," from O.N. sveinn "boy, servant."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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