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Noodle
Definitions
- 1 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. plural-normally
"She slurped a long noodle up out of her soup."
- 2 A person with poor judgment; a fool. dated, informal
"Laura told me the names of all the actors and actreſſes as they preſented themſelves; and, not contented vvith this, the ſatyrical baggage deſcrib'd their characters nicely, as they appeared. "This here (ſaid ſhe) is a noodle—That fellovv is a brute:[…].""
- 3 An improvised passage of music played on an instrument; also, a series of ornamental notes played on an instrument; a trill. informal
- 4 informal terms for a human head wordnet
- 5 An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1). broadly
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- 6 The brain; the head. informal, slang
"[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."
- 7 a ribbonlike strip of pasta wordnet
- 8 An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1).; Ellipsis of pool noodle (“a long, slender tube or rod, extruded from buoyant foam and usually brightly coloured, used as an exercise tool or toy in swimming pools”). abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, ellipsis, informal
- 9 A dumpling cooked by boiling and served in soup; a knaidel or knödel. archaic
- 10 The penis. slang
- 11 A long and slender dragon, usually an eastern dragon. slang
- 12 A borzoi dog. Internet, endearing, humorous
- 1 To fool or trick (someone). informal, obsolete, transitive
- 2 To hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume. Shetland, ambitransitive, informal
- 3 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. informal, transitive
- 4 To search (mullock (“mining or ore processing waste”)) for opals. Australia, informal, transitive
- 5 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. Australia, informal, transitive
"Fred had several lacerations on his hands from noodling flathead in the river."
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- 6 To engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time. British, dialectal, informal, intransitive
- 7 To ponder or think about (something). US, informal, transitive
"“Noodle that thought around for a while,” said Dr. Johnson to his Biblical Interpretations class."
- 8 To obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock. Australia, informal, transitive
- 9 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. informal, intransitive
"He has been noodling with that trumpet all afternoon, and every bit of it sounds awful."
- 10 To clear extraneous material from (an opal). Australia, also, figuratively, informal, transitive
- 11 To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner; to muse. US, informal, intransitive
"He noodled over the problem for a day or two before making a decision."
- 12 To search mullock for opals; to fossick. Australia, informal, intransitive
"On the Olympic Field the tour-group is permitted to ‘noodle’ (hunt for opals) on the waste or mullock heaps […]"
- 13 To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle. US, informal, intransitive
"If the machine is really broken, noodling with the knobs is not going to fix it."
- 14 Often followed by about or around: to mess around, to play. US, informal, intransitive
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
The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly a variant of noddle (“the head”). The verb is derived from the noun.
The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly a variant of noddle (“the head”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Possibly either: * a blend of Shetland Scots nune (“to sing softly, croon, hum”) (from Danish nynne, Norwegian nuna, nynna (“to hum; to sing”), originally imitative) + English doodle (“to play the bagpipes”) (chiefly Scotland); or * from Norn (unattested), from Old Norse *grynta, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), a frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”) (and thus a doublet of grunt).
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly derived: * from noodle (“to hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume”) (Shetland) (see etymology 3); or * from German nudeln (“to make music or sing listlessly; to make music or sing at a low pitch or volume, or in an improvisatory manner”) (Leipzig), apparently from Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”) (see etymology 1) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs)). The word was probably also influenced by doodle (“to draw or scribble aimlessly”, verb). The noun is probably derived from the verb, though the verb is first attested later. The noun was probably also influenced by doodle (“small mindless sketch”, noun).
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly derived: * from noodle (“to hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume”) (Shetland) (see etymology 3); or * from German nudeln (“to make music or sing listlessly; to make music or sing at a low pitch or volume, or in an improvisatory manner”) (Leipzig), apparently from Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”) (see etymology 1) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs)). The word was probably also influenced by doodle (“to draw or scribble aimlessly”, verb). The noun is probably derived from the verb, though the verb is first attested later. The noun was probably also influenced by doodle (“small mindless sketch”, noun).
Uncertain; possibly: * from noodle (“to fool or trick (someone)”) (obsolete) (see etymology 2); or * from nodule (“rounded mass or irregular shape”).
Unknown; perhaps related to guddle (“to catch (fish) with the hands”).
See also for "noodle"
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