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coxswain

[kok-suh n, -sweyn]
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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.
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Also cockswain.

Origin of coxswain

First recorded in 1425–75, coxswain is from the late Middle English word cokeswayne. See cockboat, swain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for coxswain

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Coxswain, go on board and tell my steward to have dinner for six.

    Captain Brand of the "Centipede"

    H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise

  • Cloete is dragged into the life-boat and the coxswain tumbles in.

    Within the Tides

    Joseph Conrad

  • The coxswain stoops over Cloete and cries: Did you hear what the mate said, sir?

    Within the Tides

    Joseph Conrad

  • The coxswain of the life-boat can swear to it that the drawers were all empty.

    Within the Tides

    Joseph Conrad

  • "He says as how he belonged to a yacht, sir," resumed the coxswain.

    Confessions Of Con Cregan

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for coxswain

coxswain

noun
  1. the helmsman of a lifeboat, racing shell, etcAlso called: cockswain
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Word Origin

C15: from cock a ship's boat + swain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for coxswain

n.

early 14c., "officer in charge of a ship's boat and its crew," from cock "ship's boat" (from Old French coque "canoe") + swain "boy," from Old Norse sveinn "boy, servant" (see swain).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper