coxswain

Meanings

Noun

• In a ship's boat, the helmsman given charge of the boat's crew.
• The member of a crew who steers the shell and coordinates the power and rhythm of the rowers.
• The second or third mate of a vessel, in charge of the master's barge.

Verb

• To act as coxswain for.

Origin

• From Middle English cokswain; equivalent to cock#Etymology_4 + swain; hence “the master of a boat”.