Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To mislead by means of a petty trick or fraud; deceive.
  • intransitive verb To persuade or induce to do something by cajoling or wheedling.
  • intransitive verb To obtain by deceit or persuasion.
  • intransitive verb To act deceitfully.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An obsolete spelling of cousin.
  • To cheat; defraud.
  • To deceive; beguile; entice.
  • To practise cheating; act dishonestly or deceitfully.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To deceive; to cheat; to act deceitfully.
  • transitive verb To cheat; to defraud; to beguile; to deceive, usually by small arts, or in a pitiful way.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb archaic To cheat; to defraud; to beguile; to deceive, usually by small arts, or in a pitiful way.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb be false to; be dishonest with
  • verb cheat or trick
  • verb act with artful deceit

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably ultimately (perhaps via Middle English cosin, fraud, trickery) from Old French cosson, middleman, trader, or obsolete Italian cozzonare, to cheat (from Italian cozzone, horse-trader), both ultimately from Latin cōciō, coctiō, dealer, perhaps of Etruscan origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Origin uncertain.

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Examples

  • Mrs. Pierce to the King's Head and there spent a piece upon a supper for her and mighty merry and pretty discourse, she being as pretty as ever, most of our mirth being upon "my Cozen" (meaning my Lord Bruncker's ugly mistress, whom he calls cozen), and to my trouble she tells me that the fine Mrs. Middleton is noted for carrying about her body a continued sour base smell, that is very offensive, especially if she be a little hot.

    Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete 1665 N.S. Samuel Pepys 1668

  • Mrs. Pierce to the King's Head and there spent a piece upon a supper for her and mighty merry and pretty discourse, she being as pretty as ever, most of our mirth being upon "my Cozen" (meaning my Lord Bruncker's ugly mistress, whom he calls cozen), and to my trouble she tells me that the fine Mrs. Middleton is noted for carrying about her body a continued sour base smell, that is very offensive, especially if she be a little hot.

    Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete Samuel Pepys 1668

  • Bruncker's ugly mistress, whom he calls cozen), and to my trouble she tells me that the fine Mrs. Middleton is noted for carrying about her body

    Diary of Samuel Pepys — Volume 39: October 1665 Samuel Pepys 1668

  • Vane to "cozen" the Scottish Presbyterian Commissioners in the phraseology of the Solemn League and Covenant; with Samuel Vassall, whose name shares with those of Hampden and Lord Say and Sele the renown of the refusal to pay ship-money, and of courting the suit which might ruin them or emancipate England; with John Venn, who, at the head of six thousand citizens, beset the House of Lords during the trial of Lord Strafford, and whom, with three other Londoners, King

    Great Epochs in American History, Vol. II The Planting Of The First Colonies: 1562—1733 Various 1885

  • But if you have money enough for finer clothes and high-toned lodgings, then you might be planning to cozen the rich or insinuate yourself into society or spy on the powerful or throw money around without necessarily making sure some of it goes into the pockets of the powerful.

    Pathfinder Orson Scott Card 2010

  • Time will tell, but the lesson to be learned is not to trust, cozen or praise the denialists.

    Slamming the Overton window shut EliRabett 2009

  • Time will tell, but the lesson to be learned is not to trust, cozen or praise the denialists.

    Archive 2009-12-01 EliRabett 2009

  • There is no help for it but that I cozen him into divorcing me.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • So we believed him and he ceased not to cozen us till he cast us into jail and fettered us and tortured us with exceeding sore torments; and we are strangers in the land and have no helper save Almighty Allah and our lord the

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • A place, according to [352] Anacharsis, wherein they cozen one another, a trap; nay, what's the world itself?

    Anatomy of Melancholy 2007

Comments

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  • Citation on pettifog.

    September 19, 2008

  • My lord, my lord, love will not always last,

    When urged with long unkindness and disdain:

    Take her again, whom you prefer to me;

    She stays but to be called. Poor cozened man!

    - John Dryden, 'All for Love'.

    September 20, 2009

  • I don't know why, but this word always makes me think of jam and bread.

    April 24, 2010

  • Isn't that ti?

    April 24, 2010