cod² n also codd, codde; cod-fish. See MED ~ (2) (b) (1273; 1399); OED sb³ 1 (1357-), cod-fish (1565-), DAE (1616-), codfish (1630-) for sense 1; for combs. in sense 3: OED sb³ 4: ~ fishery (1753-), DAE (1735-); O Sup² ~ fishing (1632-); DC ~ flake (Nfld: 1907); PARTRIDGE hauler (19c Nfld); DC ~ jigger Nfld (1958); ~ jigging Nfld (1964); OED sb³ 4 ~ line (Nfld: 1794); ~ oil (1868); OED cod's head 1 for sense (a); DC ~ stage Nfld (1861).
   1 The common North Atlantic salt-water fish (Gadus morhua), since the sixteenth century the principal object of the commercial fishery in Newfoundland, where the common synonym is FISH n; freq with defining word BANK, RED, ROCK, SHORE¹, TOM COD, etc.
   [1583] 1940 Gilbert's Voyages & Enterprises ii, 406 [Hayes' narrative] With incredible quantities, and no lesse varietie of kindes of fish in the sea and fresh waters, as Trouts, Salmons and ... also Cod, which alone draweth many nations thither, and is become the most famous fishing of the world. 1620 WHITBOURNE 38 And it is well approved by all those that yeerely fish for Ling, Codde, and Herrings ... that salt orderly boyled in such manner, doth much better preserve fish. [1663] 1963 YONGE 60 The middle or end of June came the capling, a small sweet fish and the best bait, and when they come we have the best fishing, the cods pursuing them so eager that both have run ashore. [1786] 1792 CARTWRIGHT iii [sig A 2^v] "Labrador: A Poetical Epistle": The codfish now in shoals come on the coast, / (A Fish'ry this, our Nation's chiefest boast). 1875 JEVONS 27 Dried codfish have acted as currency in ... Newfoundland [OED]. 1911 ROGERS 209 The central object in an allegorical picture which symbolized Newfoundland would be the cod-fish, and around it would be grouped its favourite bait the herring, the caplin ... and the squid. 1955 DOYLE (ed) 30 "I'se The B'y": Codfish in the spring o' the year / Fried in maggoty butter. 1972 JENSEN 4 Cod are winter spawners and each female sheds between 3 and 9 million eggs, depending on the size of the fish.
   2 Proverb, prov phr as cold as a cod's nose (1937 DEVINE 63); codfish is cod by name and by nature (Q 67-9); no cod, no cash (1895 Christmas Review 12).
   3 Attrib, comb, cpd cod-bag: net in which cod are kept in the water until they can be loaded on vessel or towed ashore for processing; BAG.
   1872 Times 13 Mar, p. 3 [American Net and Twine Co ad] Cod Bags. [1886] LLOYD 62 The catch of fish is removed from the seine and placed in the boat... If a larger number is enclosed than can be taken ashore in the seine boat at once, the remaining fish are placed in what are known as 'cod bags,' which resemble cabbage nets in all but the size, and safely moored until they can be taken ashore to be dressed and cured. 1936 SMITH 124 We loaded our boat and put the balance [of the trap catch] in the cod bag, which we tied fast to our friends' stage-head. 1953 Nfld & Lab Pilot ii, 425 Cod-bag or Tinker Share island is situated about three-quarters of a mile north-eastward of Murr island. T 82/3-64 That was his work—bring in fish from the cod-bag. You'd bag your fish in the morning and that man'd bring in the fish. 1977 BURSEY 193 Our men came in with two boatloads of fish from that trap and had left another two boatloads in a cod-bag tied onto the trap. 1979 Evening Telegram 5 Mar, p. 4 The project ... is aimed at producing cod bags for fish unloading purposes, which will serve to improve the quality of landed fish.
   cod blubber: cod livers, rendered for their oil; BLUBBER.
   [1771] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 90 I baited the traps and deathfalls with salt-fish and seal's flesh fried in cod-blubber. 1832 MCGREGOR i, 225 Whatever water is mixed with the cod blubber, is afterwards allowed to run out by a plug-hole at the bottom, while the oil, floating on the top, runs off at different holes, and is guided into casks by leather spouts. 1885 Harper's lxxi, 657 A hogshead of herrings ... [is] protected from the flies and the air by a layer of cod blubber—the livers after the oil has been extracted. P 9-73 The boiler was filled about one-third full with the lye and codfish blubber enough added to bring it up to about two-thirds full. The blubber would be a year or more old.
   cod-fish: to engage in the fishery for cod.
   T 270- 66 An' then soon as [the lobster fishery is over] they cod-fishes ... and the money's always coming in.
   cod-fishery: principal commercial fishery in which cod are taken by various means according to season and types of available bait; FISHERY.
   [1810] 1971 ANSPACH 20 In the cod-fishery, which, in this Bay begins about the 10th June, and ends between the 20th and the last of October, fish is taken either with jiggers, or with hooks furnished with Bait. 1837 BLUNT 59 The Bay of Islands was formerly much frequented by vessels in the cod fishery, and stages were erected at Small Bay. 1898 Christmas Bells 14 Skipper Tom ... and three other hardy fishers were 'fit-out,' as usual, by Mr Hardfist, to prosecute the codfishery.
   cod-fishing: the prosecution of the chief commercial fishery of Newfoundland.
   1620 WHITBOURNE 11 But the chiefe commodity of New-found-land ... is the Cod-fishing upon that Coast, by which our Nation and many other Countries are enricht. [1876] 1977 WHITELEY 38 On August 15, 1876 Whiteley made application to the Department of Fisheries 'For leave to set a pound net for cod fishing at Bonne Espérance Harbour.' 1978 Evening Telegram 4 Mar, p. 2 The Fortune trawlers were returning with more than 300,000 pounds of cod a trip until cod fishing was closed in the Gulf of St Lawrence.
   cod-fish weather: foggy, chill weather associated with the appearance of cod in coastal waters in June and July; CAPLIN WEATHER.
   1912 CABOT 81 It was true 'codfish weather,'—fog, the wind on the shore, the air rawness itself.
   cod flake: platform built on poles and spread with boughs for drying split and salted cod-fish; FLAKE.
   1845 Fraser's Mag xxxii, 740 The 'breath of the sweet south,' blowing fresh from the waters, passes over the 'cod-flakes,' and becomes tainted with the sickening odour. 1907 MILLAIS 5 On one side of the beautiful harbour are endless cod-flakes and a few sealing vessels.
   cod hauler: fisherman; epithet for a man engaged in the Newfoundland cod-fishery.
   [1794] 1968 THOMAS 155-6 In her early days she had been much used to the Bon Ton, altho now the Wife of a Newfoundland Codd Hauler. 1924 ENGLAND 258 'Gi' lang wid ye!' the old man retorted. 'Ye lang, slinky cod hauler, wid legs crooked as a rainbow an' I dare say webbed feet on ye.' 1952 Atlantic Advocate Mar, p. 49 He remembers too, when Newfoundlanders began to sneer good-humoredly at Nova Scotians as 'bluenoses' and the Scotians retaliated with 'cod haulers' for the Newfoundlanders.
   cod jigger: unbaited hook set in lead sinker, pulled up sharply to take cod; JIGGER.
   [1810] 1971 ANSPACH 21 [Squids are taken with] a lead in the shape of a small inverted cone, having round the thickest end six or eight pieces of iron bent and sharpened in the form of fish hooks, and used in the same manner as the cod-jigger. 1877 ROCHFORT 101 [advertisement] Richard Neyle, 234 Water Street, Sign of Kettle and Cod Jigger. Q 67-46 ~ unbaited piece of lead with two hooks used to [take fish].
   cod-jigging: fishing for cod with a weighted, unbaited hook attached to a line and jerked sharply upward; JIGGING.
   1965 RUSSELL 152 I knew that cod-jigging was an archaic method of catching fish.
   cod-line: stout 18-thread line used in the fishery for cod.
   [1775] 1792 CARTWRIGHT ii, 127-8 On searching my pockets, I found a fathom of cod-line, one end of which I tied to a small birch tree, which grew close to the top [of the cliff and] eased myself down over the edge. [1828] 1956 FAY 101 I send a newspaper by John Louis, a cod line and £18.
   cod-net: twine net placed vertically in the water to enmesh cod by the head and gills; gill-net.
   1868 HOWLEY MS Reminiscences 8 The people of this place ... use nothing but bultows and codnets. [1892] 1896 Consolidated Statutes of Nfld 918 No cod-net shall be set on any of the fishing grounds of this Colony or its dependencies at a less distance than fifty fathoms from the nearest point of any cod-trap or cod-net previously set. 1907 MILLAIS 152 Cod-nets are of somewhat different construction, the mesh being small, only 6 inches. They are about 100 fathoms long, and are about 20 feet deep. Weights are attached to the bottom, and they are sunk in from 18 to 20 fathoms of water. The cod run their heads into the net, and get their gills entangled. These nets are hauled once a day, and contain from a few fish to 10 quintals. 1937 DEVINE 75 This might be codnet fish or bultow fish. T 25-64 Cod-nets are just a straight net put out like a salmon net or a herring net. 1975 BUTLER 58 Fishermen [in Placentia Bay] commenced using cod nets about 1875. They knit their own nets with hemp twine fifty or sixty fathoms long, thirty or forty meshes deep, a rope on both edges with lead weights on the foot and corks on the head. These nets were set with one end attached to a stake driven in the crevice of the land and the other end attached to an anchor with corks to keep the head of the net afloat. As time went on fishermen sank their nets to the bottom on the fishing grounds.
   cod oil: oil obtained from cod livers by natural or artificial processes and used for curing leather, illumination and medicinal purposes; cod-liver oil.
   [1776] 1792 CARTWRIGHT ii, 214 We trimmed and finished the cod-oil, and landed goods. [1794] 1968 THOMAS 173 From Ten to Forty pounds is given, with a free Passage out, and some petty gratuitys are sometimes admit'd, such as a Cask of Codd Sounds, a Cask of Codd Oil, a few Quintals of Fish. [1812] 1895 PROWSE 403 Price of cod oil ... £38 sterling per ton. 1900 Tribune Christmas No 7 Suddenly a weird screech seemed to fill the air, the dogs growled and whined, the cod-oil gave a flicker and went out, leaving the room in darkness, excepting for the firelight. 1904 Daily News 18 July . . our Knight of the realm, / With a cod on his crest, that the cod oil light showed, / And a 'cowld storage' steamer with Ned at her helm. 1937 JUNEK 33 Left exposed to the sun and air the liver eventually decomposes; the stroma sinks to the bottom; and the oil rises to the surface. This is essentially what we know as codliver oil, though in an unrefined state; the folk, however, refer to it simply as cod oil. 1944 LAWTON & DEVINE 16 Cod-oil and candles were the illuminants till the introduction of the kerosene lamp in the year 1870. T 34/8-64 In the morning you'd have to dip [the frost-bitten fingers] in the cod-oil and put fresh liver on your hands. 1975 BUTLER 63 Grandfather had a cooper shop with coopers making herring barrels, cod oil casks and other barrels.
   cod seine: see COD-SEINE.
   cod's head: (a) the head of a cod-fish, esp used as fertilizer; the fleshy part of the head eaten as a delicacy; cp CHEEK, FACE, JOWL, SCULP(S); (b) a type of woollen mitten.
   1626 [VAUGHAN] The Golden Fleece 20 Some of the Dunkirkes may take their progresse into your Britanniol, to ... glut their greedy throats with cods-heads. [1771] 1935 Can Hist Rev xvi, 56 [The Eskimo] liked the scalps of the raw cods heads best. 1813 CARSON 14-15 In the neighbourbood of all the fishing harbours, a considerable quantity of excellent manure may be procured from the sea weed, cods' heads, and the refuse of the seal blubber. 1846 TOCQUE 60 On going into a stage after night, I have often seen it appear as if being on fire, from the luminosity of the cods-heads. 1883 HATTON & HARVEY 271 [exports:] 300 barrels cods'-heads, at $1. 1929 BURKE [7] "The Wedding in Renews": The men will make the table groan, / And everything in style, / They'll have Cod's Heads / And Oatmeal, Fat Pork and Castor Oil. P 224-66 My mother is knitting me some cod's heads. C 70-28 A type of mitt that has only one digit on it (for the thumb) is called a cod's head. 1977 Evening Telegram 25 Jan, p. 5 [advertisement] Salt Cod Heads.
   cod sound: air-bladder, or gelatinous sac attached to the backbone of cod-fish, removed during splitting and salted as a delicacy; SOUND.
   [1794] 1968 THOMAS 173 Some petty gratuitys are sometimes admit'd, such as a Cask of Codd Sounds. 1861 (Mrs) BEETON 119-20 Cod sounds. These are the air or swimming bladders, by means of which the fishes are enabled to ascend or descend in the water. In the Newfoundland fishery they are taken out previous to incipient putrefaction, washed from their slime and salted for exportation. 1977 Evening Telegram 25 Jan, p. 5 [advertisement] Salt Cod Sounds.
   cod stage: elevated platform on shore on which cod are landed and processed before drying;
   STAGE.
   [1774] 1792 CARTWRIGHT ii, 17 I went to Great Caribou and fixed on a spot for building a cod-stage next spring. 1792 ibid Gloss i, x ~ a covered platform, which is built, projecting over the water, to split and salt codfish in. 1861 DE BOILIEU 29 In large establishments the cod-stage is usually a permanent building built over the water, with generally a good depth of water in front, in which is cast the offal of the fish.
   cod(s) tongue: the tongue or hyoid apparatus of the cod-fish, much prized for its glutinous jelly-like consistency and delicate flavour when lightly fried; TONGUE.
   [1771] 1792 CARTWRIGHT i, 170 In the morning Condon came up and brought some cod tongues and sounds. 1842 BONNYCASTLE ii, 179 Cod, mackerel, herrings, caplin, cods' tongues and sounds ... constitute the chief items of export. 1854 [FEILD] 26 He provided us with an excellent repast of Labrador delicacies, fried salmon and cod's tongues. 1941 SMALLWOOD 272 [list of exports] Cod Tongues, Fresh 1,740 lbs... Salted 1,728 lbs. 1977 Evening Telegram 25 Jan, p. 5 [advertisement) Fresh Frozen Cod Tongues.
   cod trap: see COD TRAP.

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