cox [M19th] The cox or coxswain [ME] is the person who steers a racing boat or similar craft. The cox part is from the old word cock [LME] ‘small boat’, which is not related to the bird but to Latin caudex or codex ‘block of wood’ (see code). The second half of the word, swain [OE], now means ‘a country youth or peasant’ but was originally ‘a young man attending a knight’ and ‘a male servant or attendant’. It is also the second half of boatswain [LME] (often abbreviated to bo’sun), a ship’s officer in charge of equipment and the crew.