Coxswain, or COCKSWAIN (pronounced coan, and often abbreviated to cox), on board ship, is the steersman of a boat, and commander of the boat's crew. In boat-racing, the coxswain should always by preference be a very light weight. See ROWING.
Coxswain
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 3: Catarrh to Dion, p. 537
Source scan(s): p. 0548