noodle

Etymology 1

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

noun

1. (usually in the plural) 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.
2. (by extension) An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1).
   1. (informal) Short for 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”).
3. (archaic) A dumpling cooked by boiling and served in soup; a knaidel or knödel.

Etymology 2

The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly a variant of noddle (“the head”). The verb is derived from the noun.

noun

1. (dated) A person with poor judgment; a fool.
   You vvrong me, noodle (boxes his ears). Novv then to the point. 1796 March 25 (first performance), J[ames] C. Cross, “The Village Doctor, a Burletta.[…]”, in Parnassian Bagatelles: Being a Miscellaneous Collection of Poetical Attempts.[…], London: […] Burton and Co.[…]; [for] Bellamy,[…], published 1796, →OCLC, page 140
   [A] long and hopeless career in your profession, the chuckling grin of noodles, the sarcastic leer of the genuine political rogue— […] these were the penalties exacted for liberality of opinion at that period; and not only was there no pay, but there were many stripes. 1839, Sydney Smith, “Preface”, in The Works of the Rev. Sydney Smith.[…], volume I, London: […] [A[ndrew] Spottiswoode] for Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans,[…], →OCLC, page viii
   "What are you two noodleth laughing at?" Norrie went on, with a touch of indignation. "Ithn't the thenthe of thent in hith nothe?" The speaker is lisping. 4 February 1905, Alfred Colbeck, “Netted: The Story of a Capture”, in The Boy’s Own Paper, volume XXVII, number 19 (number 1360 overall), London: “Boy’s Own Paper” Office,[…], →OCLC, chapter V (A Surprising Capture), page 314, column 1
2. (slang) 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. 2006, Mark Victor Hansen, Art Linkletter, “Mind or Are You ‘Sageing’ or Aging?”, in How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, Nashville, Tenn.: Nelson Books, Thomas Nelson, page 172

verb

1. (transitive, obsolete) To fool or trick (someone).
2. (intransitive, Britain, dialectal, informal) To engage in frivolous behaviour; to fool around or waste time.

Etymology 3

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).

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive, Shetland, singing) To hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume.

Etymology 4

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).

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. (chiefly jazz) 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.
      Coordinate term: jazzify
   2. (US, informal) To ponder or think about (something).
      “Noodle that thought around for a while,” said Dr. Johnson to his Biblical Interpretations class.
2. (intransitive)
   1. (chiefly jazz) 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.
      Coordinate term: jam
      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, […] 1965, W[ystan] H[ugh] Auden, “[Thanksgiving for a Habitat] XI: The Cave of Nakedness (for Louis and Emmie Kronenberger)”, in About the House, New York, N.Y., Toronto, Ont.: Random House, →OCLC, page 34
      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. 9 November 2020, Gwen Ihnat, “With McCartney III, Paul McCartney Offers Lessons from a Legendary Life”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2022-05-16
   2. (US, informal)
      1. 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.
      2. 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.
      3. Often followed by about or around: to mess around, to play.

noun

1. (chiefly jazz) An improvised passage of music played on an instrument; also, a series of ornamental notes played on an instrument; a trill.

Etymology 5

Uncertain; possibly: * from noodle (“to fool or trick (someone)”) (obsolete) (see etymology 2); or * from nodule (“rounded mass or irregular shape”).

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To search (mullock (“mining or ore processing waste”)) for opals.
   2. To obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock.
   3. (also figurative) To clear extraneous material from (an opal).
2. (intransitive) 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 […] 1989, Association for Industrial Archaeology, Industrial archaeology review, volume 12
   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. 1994, RonMoon, Outback Australia: a Lonely Planet Australia guide
   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. 2006, Making Waves: 10 Years of the Byron Bay Writers Festival, edited by Marele Day, Susan Bradley Smith, and Fay Knight, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

Etymology 6

) which she noodled.]] Unknown; perhaps related to guddle (“to catch (fish) with the hands”).

verb

1. (transitive, fishing) To catch (fish (usually very large catfish), turtles, or other aquatic animals) with the hands; also, to catch (fish) using a gaff">gaff or fishing spear; to gaff">gaff.
   (to catch with the hands):
   Fred had several lacerations on his hands from noodling flathead in the river.