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cod-liver oil
noun
cod-liv·er oil
: an oil obtained from the liver of the cod and closely related fishes and used as a source of vitamins A and D
Examples of cod-liver oil in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And don’t turn your nose up at a spoonful of good old-fashioned cod-liver oil, either.
—Kathleen Squires, WSJ, 28 Jan. 2022
Similar products followed, but most people used homemade recipes with affordable ingredients such as canned milk and Karo syrup, and supplemented babies’ diets with orange juice and cod-liver oil to prevent scurvy and rickets.
—Alice Callahan, Smithsonian, 25 Oct. 2019
The scientists gave patients scheduled for knee-replacement surgery either 1,000 milligrams of cod-liver oil or placebo.
—Houston Chronicle, 1 July 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1754, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near cod-liver oil
Cite this Entry
“Cod-liver oil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cod-liver%20oil. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
cod-liver oil
noun
: an oil obtained from the liver of the cod and closely related fishes and used as a source of vitamins A and D
Medical Definition
cod-liver oil
noun
: a pale yellow fatty oil obtained from the liver of the cod (Gadus morhua) and related fishes and used in medicine (as in the prophylaxis of rickets) chiefly as a source of vitamins A and D compare fish-liver oil
More from Merriam-Webster on cod-liver oil
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about cod-liver oil
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