Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person who usually steers a ship's boat and has charge of its crew.
- noun A person in a racing shell who usually directs the rest of the crew.
- intransitive & transitive verb To act as coxswain or serve as coxswain for.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
cockswain .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun See
cockswain .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun In a ship's boat, the
helmsman given charge of the boat's crew. - noun In a
rowing crew , the member whosteers theshell and coordinates the power and rhythm of the rowers. - noun archaic The second or third mate of a vessel, in charge of the master's
barge . - noun naval A
rank or position.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the helmsman of a ship's boat or a racing crew
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Everyone called the coxswain Adam, even his son and partner, Rufus the
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When they shot around this, of course the coxswain was the only one who immediately saw the exciting scene presented.
Fred Fenton on the Crew or, The Young Oarsmen of Riverport School Allen Chapman
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At 2 a.m. the coastguard on Deal beach called the coxswain of the lifeboat, R. R.berts.
Heroes of the Goodwin Sands Thomas Stanley Treanor
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Whereupon Jack, calling the coxswain up out of the boat alongside for the purpose of keeping an eye upon things generally, and seeing that no trickery was attempted, went forward to the fore deck, where about three hundred men, women, and children were drawn up in four lines or ranks, two on each side of the deck.
The Cruise of the Thetis A Tale of the Cuban Insurrection Harry Collingwood 1886
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Dance the coxswain was the first affected in that way, but after a few moments Mark felt that the poor fellow had been suffering in
The Black Bar George Manville Fenn 1870
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"In, bows!" called the coxswain; and the two bowmen tossed and boated their oars, taking their stations in the fore-sheets, one of them with the boat-hook in his hand.
Up The Baltic Young America in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark Oliver Optic 1859
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"Keep up your spirits, dear Peggy," said Nell, in that sweet, cosy tone -- if we may say so -- which played such havoc in Bob's bosom at the time when she was known as the coxswain's bride.
The Coxswain's Bride also, Jack Frost and Sons; and, A Double Rescue 1859
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It was a somewhat strange fancy, but the coxswain was a man who, having taken a fancy, was not easily turned from it.
The Coxswain's Bride also, Jack Frost and Sons; and, A Double Rescue 1859
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As the coxswain was a steady fellow, and the wind was fair, I had no anxiety as to their finding their way.
The Cruise of the Mary Rose Here and There in the Pacific William Henry Giles Kingston 1847
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In fact, the coxswain is the commander of the boat's crew.
Marco Paul's Voyages and Travels; Vermont Jacob Abbott 1841
chained_bear commented on the word coxswain
The helmsman of a boat; the person on board ship having permanent charge of a boat and its crew, of which he has command unless a superior officer is present. See also coxswainship, which is just plain weird.
February 6, 2007
thinkcharlene commented on the word coxswain
College
June 11, 2007
seanahan commented on the word coxswain
This one is pronounced very strange, like "cocks-in". Similarly, "boatswain" is pronounced "bo-sin".
June 12, 2007
madmouth commented on the word coxswain
so it's a cocksinship? oh MY
June 15, 2009