Noodles

How to spell noodles

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce noodles

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does noodles mean?

1. nounLong, thin strips of pasta or dough, usually boiled and served in soups or sauces.

Noodles in a sentence

• The soup was packed with chicken and noodles.

• She boiled a pot of egg noodles for dinner.

Where does noodles come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from the German Nudel, a word for the long, thin strips of dough boiled in soups and stews. English borrowed it in the eighteenth century, when it commonly appeared spelled with a double 'oo' to match its pronunciation. The original German Nudel is of uncertain earlier origin, possibly linked to Knödel, meaning a dumpling, which is why some food historians describe a family of soft, doughy German foods sharing a related root. As the word settled into English the double 'o' and the silent-feeling '-le' ending became fixed, which is exactly where the modern spelling can trip writers who expect a single vowel. By the nineteenth century it was a thoroughly ordinary English word for pasta-like strips, and the plural 'noodles' is now its most common form in everyday cooking talk.

How the word is built

• noodle (from German Nudel: a strip of dough)
• -s (plural)