Dictionary.com
definitions

canoodle

[kuh-nood-l]
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR canoodle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object), ca·noo·dled, ca·noo·dling. Slang.

to caress, fondle, or pet amorously.

Origin of canoodle

1855–60; perhaps ca(ress) + noodle2
Related formsca·noo·dler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for canoodle

pet, caress, embrace
British Dictionary definitions for canoodle

canoodle

verb

(intr often foll by with) slang to kiss and cuddle; pet; fondle
Derived Formscanoodler, noun

Word Origin for canoodle

C19: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for canoodle
v.

"to indulge in caresses and fondling endearments" [OED], by 1850s, said to be U.S. slang, of uncertain origin. The earliest known sources are British, but they tend to identify the word as American. In the 1830s it seems to have been in use in Britain in a sense of "cheat" or "overpower." Related: Canoodled; canoodling.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper