Cod-liver Oil Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

cod-liver oil American [kod-liv-er] / ˈkɒdˌlɪv ər /

noun

1. a pale-yellow, fixed oil, extracted from the liver of the common cod or of allied species, used in medicine chiefly as a source of vitamins A and D.

cod-liver oil British

noun

1. an oil extracted from the livers of cod and related fish, rich in vitamins A and D and used to treat deficiency of these vitamins

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cod-liver oil

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Gabito came into the world lathered in cod-liver oil, his parents claimed, with two brains and the memory of an elephant.

From New York Times

It is also common for Icelanders to take a daily supplement of cod-liver oil during the winter months, when it is difficult to get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone.

From The Guardian

The purgante was her own concoction, a mixture of cod-liver oil and mugwort, milk of magnesia, and green papaya juice, sweetened to disguise the fishy, bitter, chalky taste.

From Literature

It's a cool morning, and even though I'm twelve now, I don't have a choice—it's cod-liver oil and Latin recitation and the endless, tedious Wohlfahrt viola etudes.

From Literature

I must admit they’re doing their best to keep me in condition: they’re plying me with dextrose, cod-liver oil, brewer’s yeast and calcium.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.