Etymology dictionary

coax (v.) — coffee (n.)

coax (v.)

1660s, "lure with flattery and fondling," also in early use "treat endearingly" (1580s); "make a fool of, impose upon" (1670s), probably derived from slang phrases such as make a coax of, from noun coax, cox, cokes "a fool, ninny, simpleton" (1560s), which is of obscure origin, perhaps related to cock (n.1) in some sense. OED speculates that the verb was in vulgar use long before it appeared in writing, thus the order of appearance of the senses is not that of the sense development. Meaning "to manage or guide carefully" is from 1841. Related: Coaxed; coaxing.

coaxial (adj.)

also co-axial, "having a common axis," 1850 as a term in mathematics; the coaxial cable, one containing several coaxial lines, is attested by that name from 1934. See co- + axial. Earlier coaxal (1847). Related: Coaxially; coaxiation.

cob (n.)

a word or set of identical words with a wide range of meanings, many seeming to derive from notions of "heap, lump, rounded object," also "head," and metaphoric extensions of both. With its cognates in other Germanic languages, of uncertain origin and development.

"The N.E.D. recognizes eight nouns cob, with numerous sub-groups. Like other monosyllables common in the dial[ect] its hist[ory] is inextricable" [Weekley]. In the 2nd print edition, the number stands at 11. Some senses are probably from Old English copp "top, head," others probably from Old Norse kubbi or Low German, all the words perhaps trace to a Proto-Germanic base *kubb- "something rounded."

Among the earliest attested English senses are "headman, chief," and "male swan," both early 15c., but the surname Cobb (1066) suggests Old English used a form of the word as a nickname for "big, leading man." The "corn shoot" sense is attested by 1680s.

cobalt (n.)

1680s as the name of a type of steel-gray metal, from German kobold "household goblin" (13c.), which became also a Harz Mountains silver miners' term for rock laced with arsenic and sulfur (according to OED so called because it degraded the ore and made the miners ill), from Middle High German kobe "hut, shed" + *holt "goblin," from hold "gracious, friendly," a euphemistic word for a troublesome being.

The metallic element (closely resembling nickel but much rarer) was extracted from this rock. It was known to Paracelsus, but discovery is usually credited to the Swede George Brandt (1733), who gave it the name. Extended to a blue color 1835 (a mineral containing it had been used as a blue coloring for glass since 16c.). Compare nickel. Related: Cobaltic; cobaltous.

cobble (v.)

late 15c., "to mend or patch" (especially shoes or boots), perhaps a back-formation from cobbler (n.1), or from cob, via a notion of lumps. Meaning "to put together clumsily" is from 1580s. Related: Cobbled; cobbling.

cobble (n.)

"paving stone; worn, rounded stone," c. 1600 (earlier cobblestone, q.v.), probably a diminutive of cob in some sense. The verb in this sense is from 1690s. Related: Cobbled; cobbling.

cobbler (n.1)

late 14c., (late late 13c. in surnames and place names), cobelere "one who mends shoes," of uncertain origin. It and cobble (v.) "evidently go together etymologically" [OED], but the historical record presents some difficulties. "The cobbler should stick to his last" (ne sutor ultra crepidam) is from the anecdote of Greek painter Apelles.

[The tale is variously told, and the quote is variously reported: Pliny ("Natural History" XXXV.x.36) has ne supra crepidam judicaret, while Valerius Maximus (VIII.xiii.3) gives supra plantam ascendere vetuit. The version cited here confessedly is for the sake of the book name]

cobbler (n.2)

"deep-dish fruit pie with thick, scone-like crust," 1859, American English, perhaps related to 14c. cobeler "wooden bowl or dish," which is of uncertain origin, or perhaps its shape simply reminded people of a cobblestone. Earlier cobbler was the name of a summer long drink made from wine or liqueur, crushed ice, and fruit slices (1809, in Washington Irving), which is sometimes said to be a shortening of cobbler's punch, but that term is not attested until 1847.

cobblestone (n.)

"small, roundish, water-worn stone suitable for paving," late 14c., kobilstane; see cobble (n.) + stone (n.). Also in Middle English "a cherry-stone or pit."

co-belligerent (n.)

"one who is mutually at war" (as distinguished from an ally), 1813, a word from the Napoleonic wars, from co- + belligerent. As an adjective, "carrying on war in conjunction with another power," from 1828.

COBOL (n.)

computer programming language for use in business operations, 1960, U.S. Defense Department acronym, from "Common Business-Oriented Language."

cobra (n.)

venomous hooded snake found in India and neighboring regions, 1802, short for cobra capello (1670s), from Portuguese cobra de capello, literally "serpent of the hood," from Latin colubra "a snake, female serpent" (source of French couleuvre "adder"), which is of uncertain origin. So called for the expandable loose skin about its neck. The word came to English via Portuguese colonies in India, where the native name is nag (see naga).

De Vaan suggests a possible connection of Latin colubra with colus "distaff." "A distaff is used to wind a thread or fibre around it. Hence, a preform *kolos-ro- would mean 'distaff-like' or 'of a distaff' ..., and since a snake also winds around its own axis, it might have been called 'distaff-like animal'."

cobweb (n.)

"a spider's web," early 14c., coppewebbe; the first element is Old English -coppe, in atorcoppe "spider," literally "poison-head" (see attercop). Spelling with -b- is from 16c., perhaps from cob. Cob as a stand-alone for "a spider" was an old word nearly dead even in dialects when J.R.R. Tolkien used it in "The Hobbit" (1937).

Figurative use for "something flimsy and easily broken through" is by 1570s. Plutarch attributes to Anacharsis, the 6c. B.C.E. Scythian-born philosopher in Athens, the statement, variously given, that laws were like cobwebs that entangled the little flies but wasps and hornets never failed to break through them. An old Norfolk term for a misty morning was cobweb-morning (1670s).

coca (n.)

South American plant, 1570s, from Spanish coca, from Quechua (Inca) cuca, which is perhaps ultimately from the related Aymara, a native language of Bolivia.

Coca-Cola

invented 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., by druggist Dr. John S. Pemberton. So called because original ingredients were derived from coca leaves and cola nuts. It contained minute amounts of cocaine until 1909.

Coca-colanization, also Coca-colonization was coined 1950 during an attempt to ban the beverage in France, led by the communist party and the wine-growers.

Coca-colonialism attested by 1956.

cocaine (n.)

alkaloid obtained from the leaves of the coca plant, 1874, from Modern Latin cocaine (1856), coined by Albert Niemann of Gottingen University from coca (from Quechua cuca) + chemical suffix -ine (2). A medical coinage, the drug was used 1870s as a local anaesthetic for eye surgery, etc. "It is interesting to note that although cocaine is pronounced as a disyllabic word it is trisyllabic in its formation" [Flood]. Cocainism "addiction to cocaine" is recorded by 1885.

coccagee (n.)

type of apple in high repute 19c. for cider, 1727, from Irish cac a gheidh, literally goose-turd; so called for its greenish color.

cocci (n.)

spherical-shaped bacteria, plural of Latin coccus (attested from 1883 as a bacterium name), from Greek kokkos "berry" (see cocco-).

coccidiosis (n.)

1892, disease of birds and mammals caused by coccidia, the name of a family of parasitic insects, the scale-insect; their name is Modern Latin, from Greek *kokkidion, diminutive of kokkis, diminutive of kokkos "berry" (see cocco-). Also see -osis.

cocco-

word-forming element meaning "berry, seed," or something shaped like them, from Latinized form of Greek kokkos "a grain, a seed," especially "kermes-berry, gall of the kermes oak" (actually an insect), which yields scarlet dye, a word of unknown origin, perhaps from a non-Greek source.

coccus (n.)

1763 as an insect genus (including the cochineal bug and the kermes); 1883 as a type of bacterium; from Greek kokkos "grain, seed, berry" (see cocco-). Related: Coccoid.

coccyx (n.)

"part of the human spinal column consisting of the last four bones," 1610s, from Latin coccyx, from Greek kokkyx "cuckoo" (from kokku, like the bird's English name echoic of its cry), so called by ancient Greek physician Galen because the stunted, coalesced tail-bones in humans supposedly resemble a cuckoo's moderately curved beak. Related: Coccygeal.

cochineal (n.)

"brilliant crimson dyestuff consisting of the dried bodies of a species of insect," 1580s, from French cochenille (16c.), probably from Spanish cochinilla, from a diminutive of Latin coccinus (adj.) "scarlet-colored," from coccum "berry (actually an insect) yielding scarlet dye" (see kermes). But some sources identify the Spanish source word as cochinilla "wood louse" (a diminutive form related to French cochon "pig").

The insect (Coccus Cacti) was so called from 1590s. It lives on the prickly pear cactus in Mexico and Central America and is a relative of the kermes and has similar, but more intense, dying qualities. Aztecs and other Mexican Indians used it as a dyestuff. It first is mentioned in Europe in 1523 in Spanish correspondence to Hernán Cortés in Mexico. Specimens were brought to Spain in the 1520s, and cloth merchants in Antwerp were buying cochineal in insect and powdered form in Spain by the 1540s. It soon superseded the use of kermes as a tinctorial substance. Other species of coccus are useless for dye and considered mere pests, such as the common mealy bug.

Cochin-china

old name of a region and French colony in southern Vietnam, from French Cochin-China, from Portuguese corruption of Ko-chen, which is of uncertain meaning. Properly a name of a division of the old kingdom of Annam, it was taken as the general name of the region. The China was added to distinguish it from the town and port of Cochin in southwest India, the name of which is Tamil, perhaps from koncham "little," in reference to the river there. Related: Cochin-Chinese.

Cochise

(c. 1815-1874), leader of the Chiricahua Apache people; his name is Athabaskan, perhaps from chizh "firewood" (compare ko-chizh "his firewood"), or from ch'izhi "the rough one."

cochlea (n.)

"spiral cavity of the inner ear of most vertebrate animals," 1680s, from Latin cochlea "snail shell," from Greek kokhlias "snail, screw," etc., from kokhlos "shell-fish with a spiral shell, sea-snail, land-snail," ("For the most part a generic word" — Thompson) which is perhaps related to konkhos "mussel, conch." Related: Cochlear.

cock (n.2)

in various mechanical senses, such as "turn-valve of a faucet" (early 15c.), of uncertain connection with cock (n.1). Perhaps all are based on real or fancied resemblances not now obvious; German has hahn "cock" in many of the same senses.

The cock of a firearm, which when released by the action of the trigger discharges the piece, is from 1560s. Hence "position into which the hammer is brought by being pulled back to the catch" (1745). For half-cocked, see cock (v.).

cock (n.1)

"male of the domestic fowl," from Old English cocc "male bird," Old French coc (12c., Modern French coq), Old Norse kokkr, all of echoic origin. Compare Albanian kokosh "cock," Greek kikkos, Sanskrit kukkuta, Malay kukuk. "Though at home in English and French, not the general name either in Teutonic or Romanic; the latter has derivatives of L. gallus, the former of OTeut. *hanon-" [OED]; compare hen.

Old English cocc was a nickname for "one who strutted like a cock," thus a common term in the Middle Ages for a pert boy, used of scullions, apprentices, servants, etc. It became a general term for "fellow, man, chap," especially in old cock (1630s). A common personal name till c. 1500, it was affixed to Christian names as a pet diminutive, as in Wilcox, Hitchcock, etc.

A cocker spaniel (1823) was trained to start woodcocks. Cock of the walk "overbearing fellow, head of a group by overcoming opponents" is from 1855 (cock in this sense is from 1540s). Cock-and-bull in reference to a fictitious narrative sold as true is first recorded 1620s, perhaps an allusion to Aesop's fables, with their incredible talking animals, or to a particular story, now forgotten. French has parallel expression coq-à-l'âne.

Cock-lobster "male lobster" is attested by 1757.

cock (v.)

mid-12c., cocken, cokken, "to fight, quarrel," probably from cock (n.1). Attested by 1570s as "to swagger," 1640s as "to raise or draw back the hammer or cock of a gun or pistol as a preliminary to firing."

The seeming contradictory senses of "turn or stand up, turn to one side" (as in cock one's ear), c. 1600, and "bend" (1898) are from the two different cock nouns. The first is probably in reference to the posture of the bird's head or tail, the second to the firearm position.

To cock one's hat carries the notion of "defiant boastfulness." But a cocked hat (1670s) is merely one with a turned-up brim, such as military and naval officers wore on full dress occasions.

To go off half-cocked in the figurative sense "speak or act too hastily" (1833) is in allusion to firearms going off unexpectedly when supposedly secure; half-cocked in a literal sense "with the cock lifted to the first catch, at which position the trigger does not act" is recorded by 1750. In 1770 it was noted as a synonym for "drunk."

cock (n.3)

"penis," 1610s, but certainly older and suggested in word-play from at least 15c.; also compare pillicock "penis," attested from early 14c. (as pilkoc, found in an Anglo-Irish manuscript known as "The Kildare Lyrics," in a poem beginning "Elde makiþ me," complaining of the effects of old age: Y ne mai no more of loue done; Mi pilkoc pisseþ on mi schone), also attested from 12c. as a surname (Johanne Pilecoc, 1199: Hugonem Pillok, 1256; there is also an Agnes Pillock). Also compare Middle English fide-cok "penis" (late 15c.), from fid "a peg or plug."

The male of the domestic fowl (along with the bull) has been associated in many lands since ancient times with male vigor and especially the membrum virile, but the exact connection is not clear (the cock actually has no penis) unless it be his role as fertilizer of the domestic hens, and there may be some influence from cock (n.2) in the "tap" sense.

The slang word has led to an avoidance of cock in the literal sense via the euphemistic rooster. Murray, in the original OED entry (1893) called it "The current name among the people, but, pudoris causa, not admissible in polite speech or literature; in scientific language the Latin is used" (the Latin word is penis). Avoidance of it also may have helped haystack replace haycock and vane displace weather-cock. Louisa May Alcott's father, the reformer and educator Amos Bronson Alcott, was born Alcox, but changed his name.

Cock-teaser, cock-sucker emerge into print in 1891 in Farmer and Henley ("Slang and Its Analogues").

cockade (n.)

"clasp, button, etc. used to secure the cock of a hat," hence "any knot or badge worn on a hat," especially as a sign of political adherence, 1709, earlier cockard (1650s), from French cocarde (16c.), fem. of cocard (Old French cocart) "foolishly proud, cocky," as a noun, "idiot, fool;" an allusive extension from coq (see cock (n.1)).

cock-a-doodle-doo (n.)

"sound made by a crowing cock," 1570s, imitative; compare French cocorico, German kikeriki, Latin cucurire, Russian kikareku, Vietnamese cuc-cu, Arabic ko-ko, etc., and compare cock (n.1).

Cockaigne (n.)

"imaginary country of abundance and bliss, the abode of luxury and idleness, lubberland," c. 1300, from Old French Cocaigne (12c.), which is of obscure origin; speculation centers on words related to cook (v.) and cake (compare Middle Dutch kokenje, a child's honey-sweetened treat; also compare Big Rock Candy Mountain). The German equivalent is Schlaraffenland ("Land of Lazy Monkeys").

cockamamie (adj.)

"mixed-up, ridiculous, implausible," American English slang word attested by 1946, popularized c. 1960, but said to be New York City children's slang from mid-1920s; perhaps an alteration of decalcomania (see decal). There is a 1945 recorded use of the word apparently meaning a kind of temporary tattoo used by children.

cockatoo (n.)

name given to various birds of the parrot family, 1610s, from Dutch kaketoe, from Malay (Austronesian) kakatua, possibly echoic, or from kakak "elder brother or sister" + tua "old." Also cockatiel, cockateel (1863), from Dutch diminutive kaketielje (1850), which is perhaps influenced by Portuguese. Spelling influenced by cock (n.1).

cockatrice (n.)

fabulous monster, late 14c., from Old French cocatriz, altered (by influence of coq) from Late Latin *calcatrix, from Latin calcare "to tread" (from calx (1) "heel;" see calcaneus), as translation of Greek ikhneumon, literally "tracker, tracer." It was fabled to kill by its glance and could be slain only by tricking it into seeing its own reflection.

In classical writings, an Egyptian animal of some sort, the mortal enemy of the crocodile, which it tracks down and kills. This vague sense became hopelessly confused in the Christian West, and in England the word ended up applied to the equivalent of the basilisk. Popularly associated with cock (n.1), hence the fable that it was a serpent hatched from a cock's egg. It also sometimes was confused with the crocodile. Belief in them persisted even among the educated because the word was used in the KJV several times to translate a Hebrew word for "serpent." In heraldry, a beast half cock, half serpent. Also, in old slang, "a loose woman" (1590s).

cockchafer (n.)

popular name of a common European beetle, the May-beetle, 1690s, from cock (n.1), in reference to its size, + chafer "beetle."

cock-crow (n.)

"dawn of the day," mid-15c., from cock (n.1) + crow (v.). An Old English word on a similar notion was hanered.

cockeyed (adj.)

1821, "squint-eyed," perhaps from cock (v.) in some sense + eye (n.). Figurative sense of "absurd, askew, crazy" is from 1896; that of "drunk" is attested from 1926. Cockeye "a squinting eye" is attested from 1825.

cocker (n.)

"spaniel dog trained to start woodcock and snipe in woods and marshes," 1811, from cock (n.1).

cockerel (n.)

"young domestic cock" (up to 1 year old), mid-15c. (late 12c. as a surname), apparently a diminutive of cock (n.1). Despite the form, no evidence that it is from French.

cock-fighting (n.)

mid-15c., cokfytyng, match or contest between cocks (see cock (n.1)). Cock-fight (n.) is from 1560s.

cockhorse (n.)

child's name for a horse, also a toy horse or rocking horse, 1540s, a nursery word of uncertain signification.

cocky (adj.)

"arrogantly pert," 1768; originally "lecherous" (1540s); from cock (n.1) + -y (2). Related: Cockiness.

cockle (n.2)

name of flowering weeds that grow in wheat fields, Old English coccel "darnel," used in Middle English to translate the Bible word now usually given as tares (see tare (n.1)). It is in no other Germanic language and may be from a diminutive of Latin coccus "grain, berry." A Celtic origin also has been proposed.

cockle (n.1)

type of edible European mollusk, early 14c., from Old French coquille (13c.) "scallop, scallop shell; mother of pearl; a kind of hat," altered (by influence of coque "shell") from Vulgar Latin *conchilia, from Latin conchylium "mussel, shellfish," from Greek konkhylion "little shellfish," from konkhē "mussel, conch." Phrase cockles of the heart "inmost recesses of one's spirit" (1660s) is perhaps from similar shape, or from Latin corculum, diminutive of cor "heart." Cockle-shell attested from early 15c.

cockney (n.)

"native or permanent resident of London," specifically the City of London, more precisely one born or living "within the sound of Bow-Bell" (see Bow bells); c. 1600, usually said to be from Middle English cokenei, cokeney "spoiled child, milksop" (late 14c.), originally cokene-ey "cock's egg" (mid-14c.). The most likely disentangling of the etymology is to start from Old English cocena "cock's egg" — genitive plural of coc "cock" + æg "egg" — medieval term for "runt of a clutch" (as though "egg laid by a cock"), extended derisively c. 1520s to "town dweller," gradually narrowing thereafter to residents of a particular neighborhood in the East End of London. Liberman, however, disagrees:

The characteristic accent so called from 1890, but the speech peculiarities were noted from 17c. As an adjective in this sense, from 1630s. Related: Cockneydom; Cockneyish.

cockpit (n.)

1580s, "a pit or enclosed space for fighting cocks," from cock (n.1) + pit (n.1). Used in nautical sense (1706) for midshipmen's compartment below decks; transferred to airplanes (1914) and to racing cars (1930s).

cockroach (n.)

popular name of a troublesome, voracious insect genus, 1620s, folk etymology (as if from cock (n.1) + roach; compare cockchafer) of Spanish cucaracha "chafer, beetle," from cuca "kind of caterpillar." Folk etymology also holds that the first element is from caca "excrement," perhaps because of the insect's offensive smell.

cockscomb (n.)

c. 1400, "comb or crest of a cock," from possessive of cock (n.1) + comb (n.). Meaning "cap worn by a professional fool" is from 1560s; hence "conceited fool" (1560s), a sense passing into the derivative coxcomb. As a plant name, from 1570s.

cockspur (n.)

"sharp spur on the leg of a male gallinaceous bird," 1590s, from cock (n.1) + spur (n.).

cocksucker (n.)

1890s, "one who does fellatio" (especially a male homosexual); 1920s as "contemptible person," American English, from cock (n.1) in phallic sense + sucker (n.). Used curiously for aggressively obnoxious men; the ancients would have recoiled at this failure to appreciate the difference between passive and active roles; Catullus, writing of his boss, employs the useful Latin insult irrumator, which means "someone who forces others to give him oral sex," hence "one who treats people with contempt."

cocksure (adj.)

also cock-sure, 1510s, "certain, confident," from cock (n.1) + sure (adj.). Probably "as assured as a cock." "The word was originally perfectly dignified, and habitually used in the most solemn connexions" [OED]. D.H. Lawrence playfully coined hensure as a female version (1929).

cocktail (n.)

"drink made from water, sugar, spirits and bitters" first attested 1798, but the reason for the application of the name, and the image intended, if any, were obscure even to contemporaries.

Ayto ("Diner's Dictionary") derives it from cocktail "horse with a docked tail" (the word in this sense by 1796) because the word came to be extended to "horse of mixed pedigree" (not a thoroughbred) and this, it is surmised, was extended to the drink on the notion of "adulteration, mixture." The 1798 reference gives the alternate name "ginger" for the drink, which seems to connect it to the concept of feaguing (see gin (v.1).) David Wondrich ("Imbibe! Updated and Revised Edition") champions this derivation for the etymology, as designating the drink to be "something that cocks up your tail." The idea of the feagued horse was used metaphorically for enlivening a person or bringing up their spirits; and early references to the cocktail do ascribe medicinal qualities to the drink, including stimulating properties.

There may also be influence from dialectal cock meaning a drink, or to drink.

Used from 1900s of any mix of substances (fruit, Molotov). Cocktail party attested by 1907.

coco (n.)

"palm tree," 1550s, from Spanish and Portuguese coco "grinning or grimacing face," on resemblance of the three depressions at the base of the shell to a monkey or human face. The earlier word for it was the Latinized form cocus, which sometimes was Englished as cocos.

cocoa (n.)

"brown powder produced by grinding roasted seeds of the cacao, an American evergreen tree," 1788, originally the seeds themselves (1707), corruption (by influence of coco) of cacao. The confusion with coco was already underway in English when the printers of Johnson's dictionary ran together the entries for coco and cocoa, after which it has never been undone. Cocoa has been the regular spelling from c. 1800.

coconut (n.)

1610s, "fruit of the tropical palm tree," from coco + nut. In reference to the dried, shredded flesh of the nut used in cookery and confections, by 1830. Meaning "the head" is slang from 1834. Coconut-oil is attested from 1829.

cocoon (n.)

"silky envelop which the larvae of many insects spin as a covering while they are in the chrysalis state," 1690s, from French coucon (16c., Modern French cocon), from coque "clam shell, egg shell, nut shell," from Old French coque "shell," from Latin coccum "berry," from Greek kokkos "berry, seed" (see cocco-). The sense of "one's interior comfort place" is from 1986. Also see -oon.

cocoon (v.)

1850, of insects, "to form a cocoon," from cocoon (n.). Figurative use, in reference to persons bundled up or wrapped up in anything, 1873. Modern sense "to stay inside and be inactive" is from 1986. Related: Cocooned; cocooning.

cocotte (n.)

1907, type of cooking vessel, from French cocotte "saucepan" (19c.), a diminutive from cocasse, which is said to be ultimately from Latin cucama.

The meaning "prostitute" (1867) is a different word, from French cocotte, originally a child's name for "little hen" (18c.), hence "sweetie, darling." Compare coquet.

cod (n.)

large sea fish, edible and widely distributed in colder seas, mid-14c. (late 13c. in a surname, Thomas cotfich), of unknown origin; despite similarity of form it has no conclusive connection to the widespread Germanic word for "bag" (represented by Old English codd, preserved in cod-piece). Codfish is from 1560s. Cod-liver oil, known at least since 1610s, was recommended medicinally from 1783 but did not become popular as a remedy until after 1825.

C.O.D.

abbreviation of cash on delivery, 1859, originally American English.

coda (n.)

"passage added to a musical composition for the purpose of bringing it to a conclusion," 1753, from Latin cauda "tail of an animal," which is of uncertain origin. De Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *kaud-a- "part; tail," from PIE *kehu-d- "cleaved, separate," from root *khu-. He writes: "Since words for 'piece, part' are often derived from 'to cut, cleave', the tail may have been referred to as the loose 'part' of the animal."

coddle (v.)

c. 1600, "boil gently," probably from caudle (n.) "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" (from PIE root *kele- (1) "warm").

The verb meaning "treat tenderly, make effeminate by pampering" first recorded 1815 (in Jane Austen's "Emma"), but the connection to the other word is uncertain; it might as well derive from caudle. Related: Coddled; coddling.

code (n.)

c. 1300, "systematic compilation of laws," from Old French code "system of laws, law-book" (13c.), from Latin codex "systematic classification of statutory law," earlier caudex "book," literally "tree trunk," hence, book made up of wooden tablets covered with wax for writing. De Vaan traces this through Proto-Italic *kaud-ek- to PIE *kehu-d- "cleaved, separate," which he also sees as the root of cauda "tail" (see coda).

Meaning "cipher, system of signals and the rules which govern their use" (the sense in secret code) is from 1808. Code-name is from 1879 (in telegraphy). Meaning "system of expressing information and instructions in a form usable by a computer" is from 1946.

code (v.)

"to put into code," 1815, from code (n.). Specifically "to put into computer code" from 1947. Intransitive sense "write computer code" is by 1987. Related: Coded; coding.

codec (n.)

by 1970, an abbreviation from compressor-decompressor or coder-decoder, on model of modem.

co-defendant (n.)

also codefendant, "one who is a defendant along with another," 1640s, from co- + defendant.

codeine (n.)

"white crystalline alkaloid present in opium," 1838, codeina, from French codéine, coined, with chemical suffix -ine (2), from Greek kodeia "poppy head," related to koos "prison," literally "hollow place;" kodon "bell, mouth of a trumpet;" koilos "hollow, hollowed out, spacious, deep," all from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole." Modern form is from 1881.

co-dependent (adj.)

also codependent, by 1905, in various senses, from co- + dependent. Modern psychological sense "dysfunctionally supporting or enabling another in a relationship in addiction or other self-destructive behavior" is attested from c. 1983. Related: Co-dependence, co-dependency.

codex (n.)

"manuscript volume (especially an ancient one)," 1845, from Latin codex "book" (see code (n.)). Related: Codical.

codger (n.)

1756, "old man, odd person;" 1796, "mean, miserly man;" probably a variant of cadger "beggar" (see cadge (v.)), which is of unknown origin.

codicil (n.)

"a writing added to a will to explain, alter, add to, or revoke original terms," early 15c., from Latin codicillus "a short writing, a small writing tablet," diminutive of codex (genitive codicis) "book" (see code (n.)). Related: Codicillary.

codification (n.)

"act or process of reducing to a code or system," 1817 (Bentham), noun of action from codify.

codify (v.)

"to reduce to a code or digest, to arrange or systematize," c. 1800 (Bentham), from code (n.) + -ify. Related: codified; codifying.

codominant (adj.)

also co-dominant, "sharing dominance equally," 1898, in forestry, from co- + dominant.

codon (n.)

"one of a group of nucleotides that determine which amino acid is inserted at a given position," 1962, from code (n.) + -on.

cod-piece (n.)

also codpiece, mid-15c., in male costume c. 1450-1550, a bagged appendage to the front of close-fitting breeches, "often conspicuous and ornamented" [OED], from Old English codd "a bag, pouch, husk," in Middle English, "testicles" (cognate with Old Norse koddi "pillow; scrotum") + piece (n.1).

codswallop (n.)

said to be from 19c. (but first attested 1959), perhaps from wallop, British slang for "beer," and cod in one of its various senses, perhaps "testicles" (a 1966 citation in OED spells it cod's wallop).

coe (n.)

"hut built by miners over a mine shaft," to store their equipment, etc., 1650s, from some source akin to Dutch kouw, German kaue in the same sense, from West Germanic *kauja-, an early borrowing of Latin cavea "hollow," from cavus "a hollow" (from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole").

co-educational (adj.)

also coeducational, "involving or pertaining to joint education of men and women at the same institution," 1868, from co-education + -al (1).

co-education (n.)

also coeducation, "joint education," specifically of young men and young women in the same institution, 1852, from co- + education.

coefficient (n.)

also co-efficient, c. 1600, "that which unites in action with something else to produce a given effect," from co- + efficient. Probably influenced by Modern Latin coefficiens, which was used in mathematics in 16c., introduced by French mathematician François Viète (1540-1603). As an adjective, "acting in union to the same end," from 1660s. Related: Coefficiency.

coelacanth (n.)

order of lobe-finned fishes, 1850, from Modern Latin Coelacanthus (genus name, 1839, Agassiz), from Greek koilos "hollow" (from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole") + akantha "spine" (from PIE root *ak- "be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce"). So called from the hollow fin rays supporting the tail in fossil remains.

Thought to have gone extinct 66 million years ago until a living one was fished up off the east coast of South Africa Dec. 22, 1938. The specimen was noticed by museum curator Marjorie Courtney-Latimer, who wrote a description of it to South African ichthyologist J.L.B. Smith.

coeliac (adj.)

"pertaining to the cavity of the abdomen," 1660s, from Latin coeliacus, from Greek koiliakos "pertaining to the bowels," also "pain in the bowels," from koilia "bowels, abdominal cavity, intestines, tripe" from koilos "hollow," from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole."

coelo-

before vowels coel-, word-forming element in scientific compounds meaning "hollow," from Latinized form of Greek koilos "hollow," from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole."

coelomate (adj.)

"having a body cavity distinct from the intestinal cavity," 1883, from Coelomata (1877), from Modern Latin neuter plural of coelomatus, from Greek koilomat- "hollow, cavity," from koilos "hollow, hollowed out, spacious, deep," from PIE root *keue- "to swell," also "vault, hole."

coeno-

before vowels coen-, word-forming element meaning "common," from Latinized form of Greek koinos "common, public, shared, general, ordinary," from PIE *kom "beside, near, by, with" (see com-).

coequal (adj.)

also co-equal, "equal with another person or thing," late 14c.; see co- + equal (adj.). As a noun, "one who or that which is equal to another," 1570s. Related: Coequally, coequality.

coerce (v.)

mid-15c., cohercen, "restrain or constrain by force of law or authority," from Old French cohercier, from Latin coercere "to control, restrain, shut up together," from assimilated form of com- "together" (see co-) + arcere "to enclose, confine, contain, ward off," from PIE *ark- "to hold, contain, guard" (see arcane). The unetymological -h- was perhaps by influence of cohere. Related: Coerced; coercing. No record of the word between late 15c. and mid-17c.; its reappearance 1650s is perhaps a back-formation from coercion.

coercion (n.)

early 15c., cohercioun, "compulsion, forcible constraint," from Old French cohercion (Modern French coercion), from Medieval Latin coercionem, from Latin coerctionem, earlier coercitionem, noun of action from past-participle stem of coercere "to control, restrain" (see coerce).

It defies the usual pattern where Middle English -cion reverts to Latin type and becomes -tion. Specific sense in reference to government by force, ostensibly to suppress disorder, emerged from 19c. British policies in Ireland. "As the word has had, in later times, a bad flavour, suggesting the application of force as a remedy, or its employment against the general sense of the community, it is now usually avoided by those who approve of the action in question" [OED].

coercive (adj.)

"having powers to coerce," c. 1600, from coerce + -ive. Form coercitive (attested from 1630s) is more true to Latin but less frequent in use.

coessential (adj.)

also co-essential, "having the same essence," late 15c., coessencial, from Medieval Latin; see co- + essential (adj.). Related: Coessentially; coessentiality.

coetaneous (adj.)

"having the same age as another, beginning to exist at the same time," c. 1600, from Late Latin coaetanus "one of the same age," from assimilated form of Latin com "with, together with" (see com-) + aetas "age" (from PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity") + adjectival suffix -aneus. Related: Coetaneously.

coeternal (adj.)

also co-eternal, "existing with another for eternity," late 14c., from Medieval Latin, from Late Latin coaeternus; see co- + eternal.

coeval (adj.)

"having the same age, having lived for an equal period," 1620s, from Late Latin coaevus "of the same age," from assimilated form of Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + aevum "an age" (from PIE root *aiw- "vital force, life; long life, eternity"). As a noun from c. 1600.

coevolution (n.)

also co-evolution, 1965, from co- + evolution; supposedly introduced by Paul Ehrlich and Peter Raven in a study of the relationship between caterpillars and plants.

coexistence (n.)

also co-existence, mid-15c., "joint existence;" see co- + existence. As "peaceful relations between states of different ideologies," 1954, a Cold War term. Related: Coexistent.

coexist (v.)

1670s, "exist at the same time as another," from co- + exist. Of political/economic systems, "to exist peaceably at the same time" (especially with reference to communism and the West) from 1931. Related: Coexisted; coexisting.

coextensive (adj.)

"occupying the same space or duration of time," 1771, from co- + extensive.

coffee (n.)

"drink made from the ground and roasted seeds of a tree originally native to Arabia and Abyssinia," c. 1600, from Dutch koffie, from Turkish kahveh, from Arabic qahwah "coffee," which Arab etymologists connected with a word meaning "wine," but it is perhaps rather from the Kaffa region of Ethiopia, a home of the plant (coffee in Kaffa is called būno, which itself was borrowed into Arabic as bunn "raw coffee").

The early forms of the word in English indicate a derivation from Arabic or Turkish: chaoua (1598), cahve, kahui, etc. French café, German Kaffe are via Italian caffè.

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates to the 1510s; the beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe c. 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink, but its use there declined 18c. with the introduction of cheaper tea. In the American colonies, however, the tax on tea kept coffee popular.

Meaning "a light meal at which coffee is served" is from 1774. As a shade or color resembling coffee, 1815. Coffee-bean is from 1680s. Coffee-mill is from 1690s; coffee-spoon is from 1703; coffee-pot is from 1705; coffee-cup is from 1762. Coffee-shop is from 1838. Coffee-cake is from 1850 as "cake in which coffee is an ingredient." Coffee break attested from 1952, at first often in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.