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.
cheat suggests using trickery that escapes observation.
cheated me out of a dollar
cozen implies artful persuading or flattering to attain a thing or a purpose.
always able to cozen her grandfather out of a few dollars
defraud stresses depriving one of his or her rights and usually connotes deliberate perversion of the truth.
defrauded of her inheritance by an unscrupulous lawyer
swindle implies large-scale cheating by misrepresentation or abuse of confidence.
swindled of their savings by con artists
Example Sentences
cozened several elderly ladies into believing that he was intending marriagecozened scores of people by persuading them to hand over funds that he would “invest”
Recent Examples on the WebThe point, however, is not to entertain the driver/employee but to cozen the owner. Dan Neil, WSJ, 19 Dec. 2017
Word History
Etymology
perhaps from obsolete Italian cozzonare, from Italian cozzone horse trader, from Latin cocion-, cocio trader