coddle

[kod-l]

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verb (used with object), cod·dled, cod·dling.

to treat tenderly; nurse or tend indulgently; pamper: to coddle children when they're sick.
to cook (eggs, fruit, etc.) in water that is just below the boiling point; cook gently.

Origin of coddle

1590–1600; variant of caudle, v. use of caudle

Related formscod·dler, nounun·cod·dled, adjective

Synonyms for coddle

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1. indulge, baby, humor, spoil.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for coddle

humor, pet, cosset, favor, caress, mollycoddle, spoil, baby, nurse, cotton, cook, poach, brew, steam, simmer

Examples from the Web for coddle

Contemporary Examples of coddle

Higher education should challenge students, not coddle them by indulging their pre-formed biases and preferences.
Pulling the Plug on English Departments
David Masciotra
July 28, 2014
They think they will irreparably damage them, so instead of raising expectations, they coddle them.
Roland Martin: America, You Can’t Handle the Truth!
Roland S. Martin
January 19, 2014
And regulators who coddle Wall Street have to worry more about becoming props in an Elizabeth Warren YouTube video gone viral.
Rising Left in the Democratic Party Killed Larry Summers' Fed Chair Chances
Peter Beinart
September 16, 2013

Historical Examples of coddle

You may take apricots not fully ripe, and coddle them, and that will do also.
The Lady's Own Cookery Book, and New Dinner-Table Directory;
Charlotte Campbell Bury
Coddle six pippins in vine leaves covered with water, very gently, that the inside may be done without breaking the skins.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
As it is, it's just me he needs to look after him and coddle him.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1905 to 1906
Lucy Maud Montgomery
They have stopped trying to coddle me now and I live rough, like the rest.
Margarita's Soul
Ingraham Lovell
He knows those who love him, who care for him with disinterestedness, who coddle him.
A Chambermaid's Diary
Octave Mirbeau

British Dictionary definitions for coddle

coddle

verb (tr)

to treat with indulgence
to cook (something, esp eggs) in water just below the boiling point

noun

Irish dialect stew made from ham and bacon scraps

Derived Formscoddler, noun

Word Origin for coddle

C16: of obscure origin; perhaps related to caudle

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 coddle

c.1600, "boil gently," probably from caudle "warm drink for invalids" (c.1300), from Anglo-French caudel (c.1300), ultimately from Latin calidium "warm drink, warm wine and water," neuter of calidus "hot," from calere "be warm" (see calorie). Verb meaning "treat tenderly" first recorded 1815 (in Jane Austen's "Emma"). Related: Coddled; coddling.