Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To cook in water just below the boiling point.
  • transitive verb To treat indulgently; baby. synonym: pamper.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An over-indulged, pampered being; a person or animal made weak or effeminate by tender treatment.
  • To make effeminate by pampering; make much of; treat tenderly as an invalid; humor; pamper.
  • In tobacco manufacturing, to injure by fermentation.
  • To boil gently; seethe; stew, as fruit.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To parboil, or soften by boiling.
  • transitive verb To treat with excessive tenderness; to pamper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To treat gently or with great care.
  • verb transitive To cook slowly in hot water that is below the boiling point.
  • noun An Irish dish comprising layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and bacon rashers with sliced potatoes and onions.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb treat with excessive indulgence
  • verb cook in nearly boiling water

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Possibly alteration of caudle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Compare British dialect caddle ("to coax, spoil, fondle") and cade.

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Examples

  • Elsewhere, Hastert said the Democratic plan would "coddle" -- oh, how they love to accuse others of coddling -- "the same terrorists who plan to harm innocent Americans and their freedom worldwide."

    Joshuah Bearman: The Tyranny of the Detainee Bill 2008

  • Wanting to see the law respected is not the same as wanting to "coddle" our enemies.

    Borger: CIA flap a huge headache for Obama 2009

  • One Afghan politician believes that, while Gen. David Petraeus will almost certainly pursue a counterinsurgency strategy similar to his predecessor's, he will be less inclined to "coddle" Karzai on corruption than McChrystal was.

    The Economist: Give Petraeus A Chance 2010

  • One Afghan politician believes that, while Gen. David Petraeus will almost certainly pursue a counterinsurgency strategy similar to his predecessor's, he will be less inclined to "coddle" Karzai on corruption than McChrystal was.

    The Economist: Give Petraeus A Chance 2010

  • Clinton wasn't going to "coddle" Beijing dictators, remember?

    Election Central Morning Roundup 2009

  • The CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, has said that he now has to "coddle" his employees, and even the U.S. military has encouraged its drillmasters to do less shouting because, according to Under Secretary of Defense David Chu, today's generation of recruits respond better to instructors who play "a more counseling-type role."

    Hillary and the Gender Wars 2008

  • As Republicans tell it, anyone who votes against legalizing Bush's surveillance and detainee treatment programs is voting to '' coddle '' terrorists.

    OpEdNews - Quicklink: House Set to Vote on Eavesdropping Bill 2006

  • Look Sarah, I am sorry if you think it is the right thing to do to "coddle" a person under ...

    Columbia Missourian: Latest Articles 2009

  • Look Sarah, I am sorry if you think it is the right thing to do to "coddle" a person under ...

    Columbia Missourian: Latest Articles 2009

  • Look Sarah, I am sorry if you think it is the right thing to do to "coddle" a person under the age of 18 by treating them with "kids gloves" in your response to them on here.

    Columbia Missourian: Latest Articles 2009

Comments

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  • Etymonline notes that the root is:

    kelə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "warm." It forms all or part of: caldera; calid; Calor; caloric; calorie; calorimeter; cauldron; caudle; chafe; chauffeur; chowder; coddle; lee; lukewarm; nonchalant; scald (v.) "afflict painfully with hot liquid or steam."

    It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit carad- "harvest," literally "hot time;" Latin calor "heat," calidus "warm," calere "be hot;" Lithuanian šilti "become warm," šilus "August;" Old Norse hlær, Old English hleow "warm."

    February 25, 2024