The origin of the verb is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested: * From a blend of ca(ress) + noodle (“to engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time; to mess around, to play”). * From German knuddeln (“to cuddle; (originally) to embrace tightly”); or related to Low German knuddle (“a clump, a knot”), a diminutive of knude, related to Old High German knodo, knoto (“a knot”) (modern German Knoten (“knot”)); ultimate etymology unknown. Compare also Norwegian Bokmål knulle (“to fuck”), Swedish knulla (“to fuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *knuzlijaną (“to beat; to mash”) (and also compare the semantics of the Scandinavian cognates of fuck). The noun is probably derived from the verb.
1
Slang To caress, fondle, or pet (someone); also, to have sexual intercourse with (someone); to make love with.
He’s got a big smile on his face—who’s he been canoodling recently?
“There,” she cried triumphantly, when her labours were finished, “it [the drawing-room] looks different now, really quite effective and ‘canoodling’.”[1877, Anna C. Steele, chapter XXI, in Condoned. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, page 243:
And above all things, do not let her kanoodle you with soft words and looks of love, because she is full of 'em. If she can't scare you, with her indignation at the outrage of arresting and searching her, she will try to capture you and make you love her. You must be as firm as adamant.1887, Geo[rge] W[ilbur] Peck, chapter XII, in How Private Geo. W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion, Or The Funny Experiences of a Raw Recruit, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Belford, Clarke & Co., →OCLC, page 156:
1 more example
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.1900, Charles Felton Pidgin, Quincy Adams Sawyer and Mason’s Corner Folks: […] A Picture of New England Home Life, Boston, Mass.: C. M. Clark Publishing Company, →OCLC:
3
Slang Of a person: to caress, fondle, or pet another person; of two people: to caress, fondle, or pet each other; also, to have sexual intercourse; to make love.
Young Robin and my daughter. / ‘Canoodling’ too. This must lead to manslaughter.[1874], Charles Millward, The Grand Annual Comic Christmas Pantomime Entitled, Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross: […], Birmingham: […] Theatre Royal Printing Works, →OCLC, scene iii, page 9:
Gerald Arbuthnot sat with her in the library all the time Jim was upstairs dying and they canoodled together on the sofa in front of the fire.1915, Frank Danby [pseudonym; Julia Frankau], “The Arbuthnot Case”, in The Story behind the Verdict, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC, page 58:
4 more examples
My mouth opened, ostensibly to tell him to stop this right now, I refused to kanoodle with anyone who wasn't my true love. I'd never know what I would have actually said, because he crushed his lips on mine, and my brain short-circuited.2007 November, Jackie Kessler, “Paul’s Apartment”, in The Road to Hell, 1st mass-market paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Zebra Books, published November 2009, →ISBN, page 37:
Lydia nodded sagely. 'Our maid Doris canoodles with the postman when he comes round.' Agnes pulled a face. 'I don't know whether Megan canoodles, but she's in love with the coal-man. Personally, I do not know what she sees in him.[…]'2014, Lizzie Lane, chapter 2, in Home for Christmas (Magna Large Print Books), Long Preston, North Yorkshire: Ebury Press, published 2015, →ISBN, pages 31–32:
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.2014 June 26, A. A. Dowd, “Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler Spoof Rom-com Clichés in They Came Together”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2017:
You may have been a classy, demure teenager, but I was a pragmatist, a hedge-better. And it was often hedges in which I canoodled.2022 August 7, Jessica Fostekew, “‘I canoodled in hedges and fumbled in recycling bins as a teenager – and I don’t regret a thing’”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Apr 2023:
The origin of the verb is uncertain; the following possibilities have been suggested: * From a blend of ca(ress) + noodle (“to engage in frivolous behavior; to fool around or waste time; to mess around, to play”). * From German knuddeln (“to cuddle; (originally) to embrace tightly”); or related to Low German knuddle (“a clump, a knot”), a diminutive of knude, related to Old High German knodo, knoto (“a knot”) (modern German Knoten (“knot”)); ultimate etymology unknown. Compare also Norwegian Bokmål knulle (“to fuck”), Swedish knulla (“to fuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *knuzlijaną (“to beat; to mash”) (and also compare the semantics of the Scandinavian cognates of fuck). The noun is probably derived from the verb.
She got on with the crewmen, all of whom liked her and at least one of whom, Pinky Montmorency, took more than a casual interest in her. Probably a bit of a canoodle now and then in the room behind the office.1980, Peter De Vries, chapter 1, in Consenting Adults or The Duchess will be Furious […], Boston, Mass.; Toronto, Ont.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 6: