Past tense of 'cox': to act as the coxswain (person who steers and commands) of a rowing boat.
From 'cox' (short for coxswain), which comes from Middle English 'cocks' meaning the helmsman's boat, derived from Old Norse 'kokr' (cook/small boat). The term evolved to mean the person who steers the boat.
The word 'cox' is one of the few English words that comes from a boat name rather than a job title—it started as the name of a small vessel and became the name of the person who commanded it, kind of like how 'cab' comes from 'cabriolet'!
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