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mollycoddle

Etymology and origin of the English word mollycoddle

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmɒl.ɪˌkɒd.əl/ (UK); /ˈmɑl.iˌkɑd.əl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It was formed from molly “milksop, effeminate man”,[2][3] from Molly, a pet form of the name Mary,[2][4][3][5] and coddle.[2][4][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A pampered, fastidious or effeminate man or boy (1828 in Etymonline;[3] 1833 in Merriam-Webster;[5] 1849 in Barnhart).[4]

Semantic evolution

Molly had been used contemptuously for an effeminate man since at least 1707.[3] The verb is implied in mollycoddling by 1839,[3] while Merriam-Webster dates it to 1864 and Barnhart to 1870.[5][4]

Timeline

  • 1707 – molly, a milksop.[3]
  • 1828 – noun, a pampered man or boy.[3]
  • 1839 – mollycoddling.[3]
  • 1864 – verb, to pamper.[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To be overprotective and indulgent toward someone; to pamper.

Noun

  1. A person, especially a man or boy, who is pampered and overprotected; a milksop.

Word family

  • mollycoddler
  • coddle

Usage notes

Random House Webster's gives spoil, indulge and cosset as synonyms of the verb.[6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
Cite this entry

“Mollycoddle.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/mollycoddle. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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