• (RP) IPA: [ˈnuː.dl̩]
• (America, Canada, Scotland) IPA: /ˈnu.dəl/, [ˈnuː.dl̩]
• (Australia) IPA: [ˈnʉː.dl̩]

Borrowed from Dutch noedel), or from its etymon German Nudel; further etymology uncertain, probably a variant of Knödel, from Middle High German knödel, and then either:

• from knode, knote (from Old High German knodo, knoto, perhaps ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *knappō) + -el; or
• from lld menùdli, probably from Latin minutulus (in the sense of food chopped into small pieces), a diminutive of minūtus, the perfect passive participle of minuō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey-.
• French nouille, noudle, nudeln
• Swedish nudel

noodle (plural noodles)

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.
4. (slang) The penis.

• French: nouille
• German: Nudel
• Italian: fettuccina, taglierino (string), tagliatella (strip), tagliolino, nudolino
• Portuguese: miojo, talharim
• Russian: лапша́
• Spanish: noodle, fideo, tallarín

The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly a variant of noddle. The verb is derived from the noun.

noodle (plural noodles) (informal)

1. (dated) A person with poor judgment; a fool.
   • 1751, [Alain-René Lesage], “Which is as Short as the Foregoing”, in [Tobias George Smollett], transl., The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane. […], 3rd edition, volume I, London: […] J. Osborn, […], →OCLC ↗, book III, page 244 ↗:

     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: […]."

   • 1826, [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC ↗, page 67 ↗:

     [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.

   • 1854, Charles Dickens, “Final”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC ↗, book the third (Garnering), page 349 ↗:

     If that portrait could speak, sir,— […] it would testify, that a long period has elapsed since I first habitually addressed it as the picture of a Noodle. Nothing that a Noodle does, can awaken surprise or indignation; the proceedings of a Noodle can only inspire contempt.

2. (slang) The brain; the head.

noodle (noodles, present participle noodling; simple past and past participle noodled)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To fool or trick (someone).

   Synonyms: dupe

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

Possibly either:

• a blend of Shetland Scots nune (from Danish nynne, Norwegian nuna, nynna, originally imitative) + English doodle (chiefly Scotland); or
• from nrn - (unattested), from Old Norse *grynta, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną, a frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (and thus a doublet of grunt).

noodle (noodles, present participle noodling; simple past and past participle noodled)

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

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly derived:

• from noodle (Shetland) (see etymology 3); or
• from German nudeln (Leipzig), apparently from Nudel (see etymology 1) + -n (a variant of -en).

  The word was probably also influenced by doodle.

  The noun is probably derived from the verb, though the verb is first attested later.

noodle (noodles, present participle noodling; simple past and past participle noodled)

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).

      Synonyms: mull over

      “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.

      • 1965, W[ystan] H[ugh] Auden, “Thanksgiving for a Habitat. The Cave of Nakedness (for Louis and Emmie Kronenberger).”, in About the House, New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Random House, →OCLC ↗, page 34 ↗:

        [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, […]

   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.

noodle (plural noodles)

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

• from noodle (obsolete) (see etymology 2); or
• from nodule.

noodle (noodles, present participle noodling; simple past and past participle noodled) (Australia)

1. (transitive)
   1. To search (mullock) for opals.
   2. To obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock.
   3. (also, figuratively) To clear extraneous material from (an opal).
2. (intransitive) To search mullock for opals; to fossick.

noodle (noodles, present participle noodling; simple past and past participle noodled)

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 or fishing spear; to gaff.

   (to catch with the hands) Synonyms: guddle

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