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Added 10 October 2026

canoodle

/kəˈnuːdl̩/ verb

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about canoodle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To caress, fondle, or pet (someone); also, to have sexual intercourse with (someone); to make love with.
:
To caress, fondle, or pet (someone); also, to have sexual intercourse with (someone); to make love with.
:
To cajole or persuade (someone).

noun

A caress, a cuddle, a hug.

noun

A donkey.
A foolish lover; also a fool.

Origin

The origin of the verb is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested: * From a blend of ca(ress) + noodle (“to engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time; to mess around, to play”). * From German knuddeln (“to cuddle; (originally) to embrace tightly”); or related to Low German knuddle (“a clump, a knot”), a diminutive of knude, related to Old High German knodo, knoto (“a knot”) (modern German Knoten (“knot”)); ultimate etymology unknown. Compare also Norwegian Bokmål knulle (“to fuck”), Swedish knulla (“to fuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *knuzlijaną (“to beat; to mash”) (and also compare the semantics of the Scandinavian cognates of fuck).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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