Codling
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A young small cod.
"Here a couple of old men in whiskers and spectacles leant over us, making strange sounds. Some codling had got caught in the net the same time as we were. These the old men threw back into the sea; but us they seemed to think very precious. …"
- 2 A small, immature apple
"Malvolio: Not yet old enough for a man, nor yong enough for a boy: as a squash is before tis a pescod, or a Codling when tis almost an Apple: Tis with him in standing water, betweene boy and man. He is verie well-fauour'd, and he speakes verie shrewishly: One would thinke his mothers milke were scarse out of him"
- 3 young codfish wordnet
- 4 A hake (cod-related food fish), notably from the genus Urophycis.
- 5 Any of various greenish, elongated English apple varieties, used for cooking
- 1 present participle and gerund of codle form-of, gerund, participle, present
- 1 A surname.
""HS2's London tunnels will help ensure many homes and habitats in the capital remain undisturbed. This is a key part of our commitment to deliver Britain's new high-speed railway in the most environmentally friendly way and minimising disruption to our neighbours," said HS2 Ltd Client Director Malcolm Codling."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Here a couple of old men in whiskers and spectacles leant over us, making strange sounds. Some codling had got caught in the net the same time as we were. These the old men threw back into the sea; but us they seemed to think very precious. …"
Etymology
From Middle English codling, codeling, equivalent to cod + -ling.
From codle + -ing.
* Some dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster online, list Middle English querdlyng, -lyng as equivalent to modern -ling. * Some dictionaries, including Collins Online, state that the etymology is unknown.
Related phrases
More for "codling"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.