- coxswain
- coxswain early 14c., "officer in charge of a ship's boat and its crew," from cock "ship's boat" (from O.Fr. coque "canoe") + swain "boy," from O.N. sveinn "boy, servant" (see SWAIN (Cf. swain)).
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
coxswain
Look at other dictionaries:
Coxswain — Cox swain (k?k sw?n, Colloq. k?k s n), n. See {Cockswain}. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
coxswain — ► NOUN 1) the steersman of a boat. 2) the senior petty officer in a small ship or submarine in the Royal Navy. ORIGIN from obsolete cock small boat + SWAIN(Cf. ↑swain) … English terms dictionary
coxswain — [käk′sən, käk′swān΄] n. [< COCK(BOAT) + SWAIN] 1. a sailor in charge of a ship s boat and usually acting as its helmsman 2. the person who steers a racing shell and calls out the rowing rhythm for the crew … English World dictionary
Coxswain — The coxswain ( /ˈkɒk … Wikipedia
coxswain — I. noun Etymology: Middle English cokswayne, from cok cockboat (a small boat) + swain servant Date: 15th century 1. a sailor who has charge of a ship s boat and its crew and who usually steers 2. a steersman of a racing shell who usually directs… … New Collegiate Dictionary
coxswain — UK [ˈkɒks(ə)n] / UK [ˈkɒksweɪn] / US [ˈkɑks(ə)n] / US [ˈkɑkˌsweɪn] noun [countable] Word forms coxswain : singular coxswain plural coxswains formal a cox … English dictionary
coxswain — n. & v. n. 1 a person who steers, esp. in a rowing boat. 2 the senior petty officer in a small ship. v. 1 intr. act as a coxswain. 2 tr. act as a coxswain of. Derivatives: coxswainship n. Etymology: ME f. cock (see COCKBOAT) + SWAIN: cf.… … Useful english dictionary
coxswain — A person in charge of a small craft (in the Army, a Class B or smaller craft) who often functions as the helmsman. For a causeway ferry, the pilot is in charge with the coxswain performing helmsman functions. See causeway … Military dictionary
coxswain — [15] A coxswain was originally a servant, or swain, whose job was to steer a ship’s boat, or cock (cock comes from Old French coque, which was probably a descendant via late Latin caudica ‘canoe’ of Latin caudex ‘tree trunk’, and swain is a… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
coxswain — [[t]kɒ̱ks(ə)n[/t]] coxswains N COUNT The coxswain of a lifeboat or other small boat is the person who steers the boat … English dictionary
