cozen
[kuhz-uh n]
- to cheat, deceive, or trick.
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Origin of cozen
1565–75; perhaps < Old North French coçonner to resell, verbal derivative of coçon retailer (< Latin coctiōnem, accusative of coctiō, cōciō dealer), influenced by Middle French cousin dupe, literally, cousin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
dupe, hoodwink, cheat, bilk, chisel, trick, beguile, bamboozle, gyp, swindle, defraud, con, flimflam, fraudExamples from the Web for cozen
Historical Examples
It is the same with cousin (consanguineus), and to cozen or to deceive.
English Past and PresentRichard Chevenix Trench
He had come to cozen me into letting him use me in return for a mockery of an honor.
The Plum TreeDavid Graham Phillips
Smile with an intent to do mischief, or cozen him whom he salutes.
Familiar QuotationsJohn Bartlett
The world looks to them as if they could cozen it out of some ways and means of life.
The Crown of Wild OliveJohn Ruskin
But they cannot cozen it: they can only cozen their neighbours.
The Crown of Wild OliveJohn Ruskin
cozen
- to cheat or trick (someone)
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Word Origin
C16: cant term perhaps related to cousin
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 cozen
v.
1560s, of uncertain origin; perhaps from French cousiner "cheat on pretext of being a cousin;" or from Middle English cosyn "fraud, trickery" (mid-15c.), which is perhaps related to Old French coçon "dealer, merchant, trader," from Latin cocionem "horse dealer." Related: Cozened; cozening; cozenage.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper