nurdle

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “See Language Log”)

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dəl

Verb

nurdle (third-person singular simple present nurdles, present participle nurdling, simple past and past participle nurdled)

1. (cricket) To score runs by gently nudging the ball into vacant areas of the field.
2. (conversation) To gently waffle or muse on a subject which one clearly knows little about.

Noun

nurdle (plural nurdles)

1. (cricket) Such a shot.
2. A cylindrical pre-production plastic pellet used in manufacturing and packaging.
   • 2015 March 27, Amanda Schupak, “Plastic pellets found in puffin tummies”, in CBS News:

     Puffins on the Isle of May are nibbling on nurdles, the little nuggets that serve as raw materials for plastics manufacturing.

   • 2022 February 9, Karen McVeigh, “‘Oil spills of our time’: experts sound alarm about plastic lost in cargo ship disasters”, in The Guardian‎^[1], Guardian Media Group, retrieved 2022-02-11, Seascape: the state of our oceans:

     Researchers analysed samples of nurdles and burnt lumps of plastic from four Sri Lankan beaches for heavy metals and various chemicals, including benzotriazole UV-stabilisers, which are used to prevent discoloration in plastics, bisphenols and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

3. A blob of toothpaste shaped like a wave, often depicted on toothpaste packaging.
   • 2010 July 29, Jonathan Stempel, “Colgate, Glaxo sue over toothpaste "nurdle"”, in Reuters:

     Each company is seeking the right to depict, and to stop the other from depicting, a “nurdle,” a wave-shaped toothpaste blob that sits on a toothbrush head.

Anagrams

• Rundle, lurden, nurled, rundel, rundle