cod

cod · noun¹

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromγάδος“cod”
2. Latin · derived fromgadus
3. Middle English · inherited fromcod
4. English todaycod

From Middle English cod, codde, of uncertain origin: * Oldest English form cotfich as a surname in the 13th century; for more see cot (“chamber, cottage”). * A bag or pouch, related to its bloated shape; see Etymology 2 below. * From Latin gadus, from Ancient Greek γάδος (gádos, “cod”) with a possible pre-Greek or Semitic origin; for more see Atargatis, Cetus, and κῆτος (kêtos). Cognate with the genus name, translingual Gadus.

cod · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gewt-“pouch, sack”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kuddô
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kuddō
4. Old English · inherited fromcod
5. Middle English · inherited fromcod
6. English todaycod

From Middle English cod, codde, from Old English cod, codd (“bag, pouch”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuddō, from Proto-Germanic *kuddô, from Proto-Indo-European *gewt- (“pouch, sack”), from *gew- (“to bend, bow, arch, vault, curve”). Cognate with Scots cod, codd, coad, kod (“pillow, cushion”), German Low German Koden, Kon (“belly, paunch”), Middle Dutch codde (“scrotum”), Danish kodde (“testicle”), Swedish kudde (“cushion”), Faroese koddi (“pillow”), Icelandic koddi (“pillow”).

cod · noun, adjective, verb³

Origin unknown. Attested in reference to a person (though not always a stupid or foolish person) from the end of the 17th century. The Oxford English Dictionary (1891) notes that a suggested link to codger is unlikely, as cod appears much earlier.

cod · proper noun⁴

Abbreviation.

Words from the same roots