cox·swain (kŏk'sən, -swān')
n.

1. A person who usually steers a ship's boat and has charge of its crew.
2. A person in a racing shell who usually directs the rest of the crew.

intr. & tr.v., -swained, -swain·ing, -swains.
To act as coxswain or serve as coxswain for.

[Middle English cokswaynne : cok, cockboat; see cockboat + swain, servant; see swain.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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