coxswain
[kok-suh n, -sweyn]
- the steersman of a racing shell.
- 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for coxswain
flier, navigator, captain, aviator, leader, shepherd, educate, manage, handle, maneuver, oversee, navigate, govern, influence, instruct, see, train, usher, escort, superviseExamples from the Web for coxswain
Contemporary Examples of coxswain
I looked behind me and saw that the officer, the coxswain, who only had to steer the boat, had fallen asleep.
Historical Examples of coxswain
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 TidesJoseph Conrad
The coxswain stoops over Cloete and cries: Did you hear what the mate said, sir?
Within the TidesJoseph Conrad
The coxswain of the life-boat can swear to it that the drawers were all empty.
Within the TidesJoseph Conrad
"He says as how he belonged to a yacht, sir," resumed the coxswain.
Confessions Of Con CreganCharles James Lever
coxswain
- the helmsman of a lifeboat, racing shell, etcAlso called: cockswain
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Word Origin for coxswain
C15: from cock a ship's boat + swain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for coxswain
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