Word of the Day

: October 2, 2021

cozen

verb KUZ-un

What It Means

Cozen means "to deceive, win over, or influence with pleasing words or actions or by trickery."

// Under the guise of a made-up charity, the scammers cozened people into giving them their credit card information.

// Five-year-old Mimi managed to cozen her grandmother into buying her the stuffed bear.

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cozen in Context

"In the histories, indeed, we may be amazed and grieved to read how (seemingly) Melkor deceived and cozened others, and how … Melkor knew well the error of his ways…." — J.R.R. Tolkien, "Ósanwe-Kenta," ca. 1960

Did You Know?

Cozen is believed to come from the Italian word for a horse trader, cozzone. Horse-trading, as in the actual swapping of horses, usually involved bargaining and compromise—and, in fact, the term horse-trading has come to suggest any shrewd negotiation. It seems safe to assume that not all of these negotiations were entirely on the up-and-up. Given its association with horse traders, it's not too surprising that cozen suggests deception and fraud.