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noodle

noun
/ˈnuː.dl̩/UK/ˈnu.dəl/CA/ˈnʉː.dl̩/

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch noedel (“noodle”), or from its etymon German Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”); further etymology uncertain, probably a variant of Knödel (“dumpling”), from Middle High German knödel (“dumpling; small knot”), and then either: * from knode, knote (“knot”) (from Old High German knodo, knoto (“knot”), perhaps ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *knappō (“knob; boy”)) + -el (diminutive suffix); or * from Ladin menùdli (“small dough dumpling in soup”), probably from Latin minutulus (“very small, tiny”) (in the sense of food chopped into small pieces), a diminutive of minūtus (“diminished; having been diminished”), the perfect passive participle of minuō (“to make smaller, diminish, lessen, reduce”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”). Cognates * French nouille, noudle, nudeln * Swedish nudel

  1. derived from *mey-✻ — “little, small”
  2. derived from minutulus — “very small, tiny”
  3. derived from menùdli — “small dough dumpling in soup”
  4. derived from *knappō✻ — “knob; boy”
  5. derived from knodo
  6. derived from knödel — “dumpling; small knot”
  7. borrowed from Nudel — “piece of pasta, noodle”
  8. borrowed from noedel — “noodle”

Definitions

  1. A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by…

    A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a sauce and other ingredients.

    • She slurped a long noodle up out of her soup.
    • She is cooking noodles for dinner.
    • He settled for the noodles and then after watching The Jungle Book twice on video it was time for beddy-bys.

  2. An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1).

  3. A dumpling cooked by boiling and served in soup

    A dumpling cooked by boiling and served in soup; a knaidel or knödel.

  4. ›+ 20 more definitions

    1. The penis.

    2. A long and slender dragon, usually an eastern dragon.

    3. A borzoi dog.

    4. A person with poor judgment

      A person with poor judgment; a fool.

      • You vvrong me, noodle (boxes his ears). Novv then to the point.
      • [T]hou would'st fling thy cuckoldy steeple-hat one way, and that bloodthirsty long-sword another, and trip like the noodles of Hogs-Norton, when the pigs play on the organ.

    5. The brain

      The brain; the head.

      • [W]hat appears to at first glance to be a thinking problem can be a problem with sight or hearing. […] There's nothing wrong with your noodle; it's your sensory equipment that needs a bit of help. Learn to compensate.

    6. To fool or trick (someone).

    7. To engage in frivolous behavior

      To engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time.

    8. To hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume.

    9. To play (a musical instrument or passage of music) or to sing (a passage of music) in an…

      To play (a musical instrument or passage of music) or to sing (a passage of music) in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play (a series of ornamental notes) on an instrument.

    10. To ponder or think about (something).

      • “Noodle that thought around for a while,” said Dr. Johnson to his Biblical Interpretations class.

    11. To play a musical instrument or to sing in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner

      To play a musical instrument or to sing in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play a series of ornamental notes on an instrument.

      • He has been noodling with that trumpet all afternoon, and every bit of it sounds awful.
      • [A]udible here and there / in the half-dark, members of an avian orchestra / are already softly noodling, limbering up for / an overture at sunrise, […]
      • We’ve learned the prospective danger of Macca [Paul McCartney] noodling around in the studio from McCartney III’s predecessors—“Wonderful Christmastime” came out of the McCartney II sessions, after all.

    12. To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner

      To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner; to muse.

      • He noodled over the problem for a day or two before making a decision.

    13. To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner

      To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle.

      • If the machine is really broken, noodling with the knobs is not going to fix it.

    14. Often followed by about or around

      Often followed by about or around: to mess around, to play.

    15. An improvised passage of music played on an instrument

      An improvised passage of music played on an instrument; also, a series of ornamental notes played on an instrument; a trill.

    16. To search (mullock (“mining or ore processing waste”)) for opals.

    17. To obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock.

    18. To clear extraneous material from (an opal).

    19. To search mullock for opals

      To search mullock for opals; to fossick.

      • On the Olympic Field the tour-group is permitted to ‘noodle’ (hunt for opals) on the waste or mullock heaps […]
      • In Coober Pedy, noodling for opals is generally discouraged, although a few tourist spots, such as the Old Timers Mine, have noodle pits open to the public.
      • We learn how Lennon used to noodle (fossick) for opal as a kid, how camels were for a long time the only form of transportation, and where the name 'Coober Pedy' came from.

    20. To catch (fish (usually very large catfish), turtles, or other aquatic animals) with the…

      To catch (fish (usually very large catfish), turtles, or other aquatic animals) with the hands; also, to catch (fish) using a gaff or fishing spear; to gaff.

      • Fred had several lacerations on his hands from noodling flathead in the river.

The neighborhood

Derived

biangbiang noodles, birthday noodle, brake noodle, chicken noodle soup, cup noodles, dan dan noodles, dandan noodles, danger noodle, drunkard noodles, drunkard's noodles, drunken noodles, e-fu noodle, hakka noodle, longevity noodle, Mexican noodles, murder noodle, my very educated mother just served us noodles, noodle bar, noodleburger, noodle dick, noodle effect, noodlefish, noodle incident, noodlelike, noodleman, noodlemania, noodlery, noodle strap, noodle up, noodlewhore, noodle whore, noods, packing noodle, pool noodle, rickshaw noodles, silver needle noodle, Singapore fried noodles, Singapore-style noodles, tuna noodle casserole, wet noodle · +7 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for noodle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA