Coxswain

The coxswain (/ˈkɒksən/ KOK-sən, or /ˈkɒkswn/ KOK-swayn[1]) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cock, referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat, and swain, an Old English term derived from the Old Norse sveinn meaning boy or servant.[2] In 1724, a "cockswain" was defined as "An officer of a ship who takes care of the cockboat, barge or shallop, with all its furniture, and is in readiness with his crew to man the boat on all occasions." When the term "cockboat" became obsolete, the title of coxswain as the person in charge of a ship's boat remained.[3]

  1. ^ | coxswain Merriam-Webster Online. Accessed 1 November 2021.
  2. ^ coxswain | cockswain, n. OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2014. Accessed 22 August 2014.
  3. ^ Blomfield, R. Massie (1911). "Man of War Boats". Mariner's Mirror. 1 (9): 235–240. doi:10.1080/00253359.1911.10654530. Retrieved 17 November 2020.