Georgian · word · verb, noun
Mollycoddle
MOL-ee-kod-ul /ˈmɒl.ɪˌkɒd.əl/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recordedby 1823
First a noun for a pampered, over-protected man or boy; by about 1839 (Etymonline; Merriam-Webster says 1865) the verb, to over-indulge or pamper someone. From Molly (pet form of Mary) + coddle.
Where it was first recorded
I. Hoole, 1823, per the current OED; Etymonline gives the noun by 1828 and the verb by 1839, Merriam-Webster 1837 and 1865.
Also spelled: molly-coddle
In its own time
You have been bred up as a molly-coddle, Pen, and spoilt by the women.
Today
Modern exampleStop mollycoddling the dog; he can climb the stairs by himself.
Fine to use as a verb meaning to pamper or over-protect.
The noun sneered at men thought 'effeminate'; its first element 'molly' was an 18th-century slur for a gay man (Grose, 1811: 'an effeminate fellow, a sodomite'). The verb 'to pamper' carries no such meaning today.
Questions
What does mollycoddle mean?
First a noun for a pampered, over-protected man or boy; by about 1839 (Etymonline; Merriam-Webster says 1865) the verb, to over-indulge or pamper someone. From Molly (pet form of Mary) + coddle.
When was mollycoddle first used?
It is first recorded by 1823 — I. Hoole, 1823, per the current OED; Etymonline gives the noun by 1828 and the verb by 1839, Merriam-Webster 1837 and 1865.
Can you still use mollycoddle today?
Fine to use as a verb meaning to pamper or over-protect.
Sources
- mollycoddle — Online Etymology Dictionary
- mollycoddle — Merriam-Webster
- mollycoddle — Wiktionary
- A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, 'Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'), Francis Grose — Project Gutenberg eBook #5402
- The History of Pendennis, W. M. Thackeray — Project Gutenberg eBook #7265
- mollycoddle (current OED, earliest evidence) — Oxford English Dictionary
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above