What does coled mean?
"Coled" is the past tense and past participle of the archaic English verb "cole," which meant to trick, dupe, or swindle someone through deceit. The word belongs chiefly to earlier periods of the language, when writers describing rogues, mountebanks, and confidence tricks might say that a victim had been "coled" out of his money. In modern English it survives only in historical or literary contexts, and most contemporary readers will encounter it in old novels, pamphlets, or glossaries of cant and slang rather than in conversation. Its closest living relatives are words like "deceived" or "swindled," which have replaced it entirely. Because "coled" looks similar to "coaled" (loaded with coal) and "cold" (low in temperature), readers meeting it in an old text should take care not to misread it; its true sense is always about deception, never temperature or fuel.
verb (past tense and past participle)Past tense and past participle of the now-archaic verb "cole," meaning to trick, deceive, or swindle someone.
- Tricked, deceived, or cheated by cunning (past tense of the archaic verb "cole")
"The peddler coled the unsuspecting traveler out of his purse with a tale of lost fortune."
"He was coled into signing away his inheritance by a smooth-talking stranger."
"The old pamphlet warned readers against being coled by street quacks selling false cures."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coled
The verb "cole" derives from the noun "cole" (or "col"), an old term for a trick, hoax, or swindle, itself of uncertain deeper origin but long associated with the vocabulary of cheating and sharp practice in English. From this noun came the verb meaning to impose upon or defraud, and "coled" is simply its regular past form. The word flourished in the slang and cant literature of early modern England before fading from common use.
How coled is actually used
"Coled" belongs to historical or literary English rather than everyday modern usage; the verb "cole" has largely fallen out of use since roughly the seventeenth century. It appears mainly in older texts discussing rogues, con men, and sharp practice.
Easily confused with coled
"Coaled" refers to supplying or loading coal onto a ship or furnace, while "coled" is the archaic past form of "cole," meaning to deceive.
"Cold" describes low temperature or lack of warmth, whereas "coled" is a rare past-tense verb form meaning tricked or deceived.