cozen

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 2, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>cozen</strong> &#149; \KUZ-un\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Cozen</em> means "to deceive, win over, or influence with pleasing words or actions or by trickery."</p> <p>// Under the guise of a made-up charity, the scammers <em>cozened</em> people into giving them their credit card information.</p> <p>// Five-year-old Mimi managed to <em>cozen</em> her grandmother into buying her the stuffed bear.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cozen">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"In the histories, indeed, we may be amazed and grieved to read how (seemingly) Melkor deceived and <em>cozened</em> others, and how … Melkor knew well the error of his ways…." — J.R.R. Tolkien, "Ósanwe-Kenta," ca. 1960</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Cozen</em> is believed to come from the Italian word for a horse trader, <em>cozzone</em>. Horse-trading, as in the actual swapping of horses, usually involved bargaining and compromise—and, in fact, the term <em><a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horse-trading">horse-trading</a></em> 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 <em>cozen</em> suggests deception and fraud.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>