Etymograph

English

tomcod

Tomcod may come from French tacaud ‘Trisopterus spp’.

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presenttacaud1‘Trisopterus spp’uncertain
  2. Englishtodaytomcod1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English tomcod

Lineage

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presenttacaudWiktionary, English tomcod‘Trisopterus spp’uncertain
  2. EnglishtodaytomcodWiktionary, English tomcod

The story

Possibly from French tacaud, probably influenced by tom (‘male animal’) and cod.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from French tacaud

Today it means

noun Any member of the species Microgadus tomcod, of edible cod found in the Atlantic.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tomcod”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / French tacaud / tomcod

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