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codling (KOD-ling) - n., a small immature apple; any of several varieties of elongated green apples used for cooking; a small cod.
Ignoring the fish for now, as that's really a separate word formed by a straight diminutive, this was originally (in the 14th century) querdling, after which everyone seems to have a different story. Most likely, it's a diminutive querd, but no one knows what that might be -- most inventively, someone unsourced suggests Anglo-Norman *querdelion, lionheart, as in cuer, heart + de, of + lion, lion, but what that might have to do with anything is not explained.
---L.
Ignoring the fish for now, as that's really a separate word formed by a straight diminutive, this was originally (in the 14th century) querdling, after which everyone seems to have a different story. Most likely, it's a diminutive querd, but no one knows what that might be -- most inventively, someone unsourced suggests Anglo-Norman *querdelion, lionheart, as in cuer, heart + de, of + lion, lion, but what that might have to do with anything is not explained.
---L.
