coddle

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒd.əl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑ.dəl/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔd.əl/
• 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, volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC:

     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 World. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, 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
• coddler
• coddlesome
• coddlingly
• overcoddle

 

• mollycoddle

Related terms

• scald

Translations

to treat gently or with great care

• Bulgarian: глезя (bg) (glezja), угаждам (bg) (ugaždam)
• Czech: rozmazlovat, hýčkat (cs) impf, rozmazlit pf
• 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), popar (es)
• Swedish: pjoska (sv)

to cook slowly in hot water

• Bulgarian: къкря (bg) (kǎkrja), варя на бавен огън (varja na baven ogǎn)
• Czech: mírně povařit pf, lehce povařit pf
• 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, escalfar (es), pochar (es) (frying)

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