Cox

How to spell cox

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce cox

What does cox mean?

1. nounThe person who steers a rowing boat and directs the rhythm of the crew.
2. verbTo steer a rowing boat and direct its crew.

Cox in a sentence

• noun

  The cox called the stroke rate through a small microphone.

• verb

  She learned to cox the junior four during her first term at college.

• noun

  A lightweight cox gives the eight a real advantage on race day.

• verb

  He agreed to cox for the team after the regular steerer fell ill.

Where does cox come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Cox is a clipped, informal form of coxswain, the title for the person who steers a rowing boat and directs its crew. Coxswain itself was built from two older parts: 'cock', which once meant a small ship's boat or dinghy, and 'swain', an old word for a young man or servant, related to the same root that gives us 'boatswain'. The 'cock' element traces back through Old French 'coque' to a Late Latin word for a type of small vessel, while 'swain' comes from Old Norse 'sveinn' meaning a boy or attendant. So a coxswain was literally the lad in charge of the boat, and over centuries the role grew into the recognised steersman of a racing crew. The short form 'cox' became popular in rowing clubs and universities, and its odd-looking spelling, with that final 'x' standing in for the 'cks' sound, is the small trap that catches writers out.

How the word is built

• cox (shortened form of coxswain: cock 'small ship's boat'
• swain 'lad, servant')