mollycoddle
[mol-ee-kod-l]
- a man or boy who is used to being coddled; a milksop.
- to coddle; pamper.
Origin of mollycoddle
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com2. spoil, indulge, cosset.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mollycoddle
Historical Examples
But to the Mollycoddle she apportions dyspepsia and black bile.
AppearancesGoldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Nations, like men, may be classified roughly as Red-blood and Mollycoddle.
AppearancesGoldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
The Mollycoddle engenders ideas, and the Red-blood exploits them.
AppearancesGoldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
To be born a Mollycoddle in America is to be born to a hard fate.
AppearancesGoldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
The Mollycoddle also despises the Red-blood, but he cannot do without him.
AppearancesGoldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
mollycoddle
- (tr) to treat with indulgent care; pamper
- a pampered person
Word Origin
C19: from molly ² + coddle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for mollycoddle
v.
also molly-coddle, 1870, from a noun (1833) meaning "one who coddles himself," from Molly (pet name formation from Mary), which had been used contemptuously since 1754 for "a milksop, an effeminate man," + coddle (q.v.). Related: Mollycoddled; mollycoddling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper