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coddle

 - 3 dictionary results

cod⋅dle

  [kod-l]
Use coddle in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -dled, -dling.
1. to treat tenderly; nurse or tend indulgently; pamper: to coddle children when they're sick.
2. to cook (eggs, fruit, etc.) in water that is just below the boiling point; cook gently.
Origin:
1590–1600; var. of caudle, v. use of caudle

Related forms:
coddler, noun

Synonyms:
1. indulge, baby, humor, spoil.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To coddle
cod·dle   (kŏd'l)   
tr.v.   cod·dled, cod·dling, cod·dles

  1. To cook in water just below the boiling point: coddle eggs.

  2. To treat indulgently; baby. See Synonyms at pamper.


[Possibly alteration of caudle.]
cod'dler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

coddle 
1598, "boil gently," probably from caudle "warm drink for invalids," from Anglo-Fr. caudel (c.1300), ult. from L. calidium "warm drink," neut. of calidus "hot," from calere "be warm" (see calorie). Verb meaning "treat tenderly" first recorded 1815 (in Jane Austen's "Emma").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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