canoodle

English

Etymology

Origin Unknown; compare Swedish knulla (“to fornicate”), German knuddeln (“to cuddle”). Folk etymology cites the use of two person canoes as an activity to escape the presence of a chaperon by couples during Victorian and Edwardian times, and the activities such privacy allowed.

Pronunciation

Audio (US)(file)

Verb

canoodle (third-person singular simple present canoodles, present participle canoodling, simple past and past participle canoodled)

  1. To caress, touch up, pet or make love
    He's got a big smile on his face; who's he been canoodling recently?
    • 26 June 2014, A.A Dowd, AV Club Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler spoof rom-com clichés in They Came Together
      As Norah Jones coos sweet nothings on the soundtrack, the happy couple—played by Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler—canoodle through a Manhattan montage, making pasta for two, swimming through a pile of autumn leaves, and horsing around at a fruit stand.
  2. To persuade or cajole
    • 1900: Charles Felton Pidgin, Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason's Corner Folks - A Picture of New England Home Life - He canoodled my husband into believin' that the end of the world was comin' and it was his duty to give all his property away.

Translations

Noun

canoodle (plural canoodles)

  1. A cuddle, hug, or caress

See also

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