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)

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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?

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

To caress, touch up, pet or make love

• Finnish:halailla (fi), lemmiskellä (fi)

See also

• kanoodle