Although a piece of cod is tasty, a codpiece is not, a surprising difference considering that these two cods derive from the same source. The word cod can be traced back a thousand years to the Old English codd, a word referring both to a sack in which items could be carried and to the seedcase of a plant. Five hundred years later, in the middle of the fourteenth century, codd was also extended to the fish, a semantic development that occurred either because the rumpled codfish has a sacklike appearance, or because it produces, like a seedcase, an astonishing number of eggs: one American biologist calculated that if all the eggs laid during the life of a single cod developed into adults, the ocean would be a solid mass of fish. Near the end of the fourteenth century, the word cod also came to mean scrotum, with both the sack and seedcase meanings intended. Fifty years later, it became the height of fashion for men to take a good-sized gourd, split it, dry it, and then fasten it over their genitals, thus managing simultaneously to conceal and accentuate their manhood. These sartorial accessories were named, naturally enough, codpieces.
The North Atlantic is home to a particular type of fish that has an elongated body and soft fins. This species of fish is known for its lean or dry meat and is commonly sold in a variety of forms, such as pickled, smoked, salted, or fresh. It is usually caught when it weighs approximately ten pounds and is considered to be one of the most significant food fish. In fact, approximately one billion pounds of this type of fish are caught every year.
One of the paramount savory oceanic species across the globe. It pertains to the same family of osseous achromatic fish such as haddock, whiting, hake, among others. Cod is typically olive-tinged on the dorsal region and flanks, scattered with diminutive somber speckles, and can reach an extensive length, usually averaging around 4 feet and tipping the scales at a maximum of 70 to 80 lb. Scrod is the juvenile fish. Cod is apprehended in the North Atlantic marine habitats and is accessible throughout the year.