Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Coddle

Coddle (kod"d'l) , transitive verb

[Compare Prov. English caddle to coax, spoil, fondle, and Cade, a. & transitive verb]

1.
To parboil, or soften by boiling.
It [the guava fruit] may be coddled. — Dampier
2.
To treat with excessive tenderness; to pamper.
How many of our English princes have been coddled at home by their fond papas and mammas! — Thackeray
He [Lord Byron] never coddled his reputation. — Southey