coddle

coddle

English

Etymology

Probably from caudle. Compare British dialect caddle (“to coax, spoil, fondle”) and cade.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒdəl/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒdəl

Verb

coddle (third-person singular simple present coddles, present participle coddling, simple past and past participle coddled)

1. (transitive) To treat gently or with great care.
   • 1854, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], OCLC 809623158:

     How many of our English princes have been coddled at home by their fond papas and mammas, walled up in inaccessible castles, with a tutor and a library, guarded by cordons of sentinels, sermoners, old aunts, old women from the world without, and have nevertheless escaped from all these guardians, and astonished the world by their extravagance and their frolics?

2. (transitive) To cook slowly in hot water that is below the boiling point.

   a coddled egg

   • 1697, William Dampier, A New Voyage Round the VVorld. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], OCLC 1179524264, page 222:

     It [the guava fruit] bakes as well as a Pear, and it may be coddled, and it makes good Pies.

3. (transitive) To exercise excessive or damaging authority in an attempt to protect. To overprotect.

Synonyms

• (treat gently): cosset, pamper, posset, spoil; see also Thesaurus:pamper
• (cook slowly): simmer

Derived terms

• coddled egg
• mollycoddle

Related terms

• scald

Translations

to treat gently or with great care

Bulgarian: глезя (bg) (glezja), угаждам (bg) (ugaždam) Czech: rozmazlovat, hýčkat (cs) impf Dutch: verwennen (nl), vertroetelen (nl) Esperanto: dorloti (eo) Finnish: hoivata (fi), hoitaa (fi) French: choyer (fr), dorloter (fr) German: verhätscheln (de), verwöhnen (de) Greek: καλομαθαίνω (el) (kalomathaíno), φροντίζω (el) (frontízo), περιποιούμαι (el) (peripoioúmai) Polish: rozpieszczać (pl) impf Portuguese: amimar (pt) Spanish: malcriar (es), mimar (es), consentir (es) Swedish: pjoska (sv)

to cook slowly in hot water

Bulgarian: къкря (bg) (kǎkrja), варя на бавен огън (varja na baven ogǎn) Dutch: zachtjes koken Finnish: hauduttaa (fi) French: mijoter (fr) German: köcheln (de) Greek: σιγοβράζω (el) (sigovrázo) Romanian: fierbe la foc mic Spanish: cocinar a fuego lento

To exercise excessive or damaging authority in an attempt to protect

Finnish: lelliä (fi) French: couver (fr) German: überbehüten Greek: παραχαϊδεύω (el) (parachaïdévo) Romanian: răsfăța (ro)

Noun

coddle (plural coddles)

1. An Irish dish comprising layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and bacon rashers with sliced potatoes and onions.
2. (archaic) An effeminate person.

Anagrams

• codled