haddock

Meaning

Noun

• A marine fish, Melanogrammus aeglefinus, of the North Atlantic, important as a food fish.

Origin

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