Cod has 14 different meanings across 5 categories:
Noun · Verb · Adjective · Adverb · Proper Noun
A small bag or pouch.
"The courier refused to leave without payment, insisting that I pay for the groceries in cash like a true cod order."
The Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua.
A joke or an imitation.
cash on delivery or collect on delivery
In plain English: A cod is a type of white fish that people often eat.
"We added some fresh cod to the fish stew for dinner."
Usage: Do not confuse the fish with the payment method; "COD" stands for cash on delivery and refers to paying for goods upon receipt rather than in advance. Use this abbreviation only in shipping or retail contexts where payment happens at the time of delivery.
fool or hoax
"The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone"
"You can't fool me!"
To attempt to deceive or confuse.
"Please don't try to cod me about the project deadline since I have all the emails documenting our agreement."
In plain English: To cod is to trick someone into doing something by pretending you want them to do it for free.
"The old man would cod his grandchildren to do their chores before dinner."
Usage: In its most common modern usage, to cod means to deceive or trick someone, often by confusing them with nonsense. Use this verb when describing an attempt to fool another person rather than referring to the fish.
Having the character of imitation; jocular. (now usually attributive, forming mostly compound adjectives).
"The cod wink he gave his friend was clearly just a joke to lighten the mood before the big presentation."
In plain English: Cod means fake or copied, often used humorously.
"The cod fisherman brought in a catch of fresh seafood for the market."
Usage: Use "cod" only in informal contexts to describe something that is fake or imitative, almost exclusively within fixed phrases like codswallop or codicil. It rarely stands alone as a standard adjective and should not be used for anything other than playful exaggeration of falsehood.
Acronym of Concise Oxford Dictionary.
"I checked the Cod entry to find a shorter synonym for my essay topic."
The word "cod" likely entered Middle English as a surname derived from the Old English word for a cottage. Its original meaning may have referred to the fish's bloated shape, similar to a bag or pouch.