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Added 9 October 2026

haddock

/ˈhædək/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about haddock at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Lean white flesh of fish similar to but smaller than cod; usually baked or poached or as fillets sauteed or fried.
Important food fish on both sides of the Atlantic; related to cod but usually smaller.

Origin

From Middle English haddok. Compare Anglo-Norman hadoc from Old French hadot, probably from an English source. Further origin uncertain, but hadot could have evolved from (h)adoux, (h)adoz, from adoub, from adouber, adober (“to prepare”), cognate with Italian addobbare (“to souse fish or meat”). The spelling is usually regarded as a diminutive in -ok (see -ock).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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