cod-liver oil

American  

[kod-liv-er] / ˈkɒdˌlɪv ər /

noun

1. a pale-yellow, fixed oil, extracted from the liver of the common cod or of allied species, used in medicine chiefly as a source of vitamins A and D.

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cod-liver oil British  

noun

1. an oil extracted from the livers of cod and related fish, rich in vitamins A and D and used to treat deficiency of these vitamins

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Etymology

Origin of cod-liver oil

First recorded in 1605–15

Example Sentences

Gabito came into the world lathered in cod-liver oil, his parents claimed, with two brains and the memory of an elephant.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023

It is also common for Icelanders to take a daily supplement of cod-liver oil during the winter months, when it is difficult to get enough vitamin D from sunlight alone.

From The Guardian • Mar. 2, 2020

Piper had put on clothes she had soaked for a week in cod-liver oil, milk and eggs and walked into the New York City Subway at rush hour.

From Washington Post • Dec. 12, 2019

He insisted that the crew start eating the vitamin-rich meat of penguins, which even he described as tasting like a mixture of mammal, fish, and fowl parts, roasted in blood and cod-liver oil.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 13, 2015

It's a cool morning, and even though I'm twelve now, I don't have a choice—it's cod-liver oil and Latin recitation and the endless, tedious Wohlfahrt viola etudes.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper