mollycoddle

mollycoddle
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 (Cf. coddle) (q.v.). Related: Mollycoddled; mollycoddling.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • mollycoddle — n. a pampered darling; an effeminate man; a milksop. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • mollycoddle — v. t. To pamper or coddle. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • mollycoddle — vb humor, pamper, *indulge, spoil, baby …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • mollycoddle — [v] pamper baby, caress, cater to, coddle, cosset, dandle*, fondle, indulge, overindulge, overprotect, pet, spoil, wait on; concepts 136,295 …   New thesaurus

  • mollycoddle — ► VERB ▪ treat indulgently or overprotectively. ► NOUN ▪ an effeminate man or boy. ORIGIN from molly «girl» (see MOLL(Cf. ↑moll)) + CODDLE(Cf. ↑coddler) …   English terms dictionary

  • mollycoddle — [mäl′ē käd΄ l] n. [ MOLLY + CODDLE] a man or boy used to being coddled, or protected, pampered, etc.; milksop vt. mollycoddled, mollycoddling to pamper; coddle mollycoddler n …   English World dictionary

  • mollycoddle — UK [ˈmɒlɪˌkɒd(ə)l] / US [ˈmɑlɪˌkɑd(ə)l] verb [transitive] Word forms mollycoddle : present tense I/you/we/they mollycoddle he/she/it mollycoddles present participle mollycoddling past tense mollycoddled past participle mollycoddled to make… …   English dictionary

  • mollycoddle — mol|ly|cod|dle [ˈmɔliˌkɔdl US ˈma:liˌka:dl] v [T] [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: mollycoddle someone treated too kindly (19 21 centuries), from Molly a female name + coddle] to treat someone too kindly and to protect them too much from anything… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • mollycoddle — verb his parents mollycoddle him Syn: pamper, cosset, coddle, spoil, indulge, overindulge, pet, baby, nanny, wait on hand and foot …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • mollycoddle — I. noun Etymology: Molly, nickname for Mary Date: 1833 a pampered or effeminate man or boy II. transitive verb ( coddled; mollycoddling) Date: 1864 to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention Synonyms: see indulge •… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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