MarcusBennevall/EtymologyTaggerDataset huggingface dataset:
Tripolitania
From Ancient Greek Τριπολιτάνια (Tripolitánia), from Τριπολίτης (Tripolítēs, “Tripolitan”) + -ία (-ía, “forming abstract nouns”), from Τρίπολις (Trípolis, “Tripoli”) + -της (-tēs, “forming abstract nouns”), reanalyzed as Τρίπολ-ῑ́της (Trípol-ī́tēs) (compare πολίτης (polítēs) and Latin -ī̆tānus), from τρι- (tri-, “three”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”), referring to the three cities Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna.
tanuki
Borrowed from Japanese 狸(たぬき) (tanuki, “raccoon dog”).
archbishop
From Middle English erchebischop, archebischop, from Old English arċebisċop (“archbishop”), from Late Latin or Ecclesiastical Latin archiepiscopus, from Ancient Greek ἀρχιεπίσκοπος (arkhiepískopos), from ἀρχι- (arkhi-, “first, chief”) + ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos, “overseer”), from ἐπισκοπέω (episkopéō, “to watch over”), from ἐπί (epí, “over”) + σκοπέω (skopéō, “to examine”), equivalent to arch- + bishop.
prolific
First use appears c. 1635. From French prolifique and its etymon Latin prōlificus, from prōlēs (“offspring”) + -ficus (“making”).
siege
From Middle English sege, from Old French sege, siege, seige (modern French siège), from Vulgar Latin *sēdicum, from Latin sēdicŭlum, sēdēcula (“small seat”), from Latin sēdēs (“seat”).
effeminate
From Middle English effeminat, effemynat, from Latin effēminātus, past participle of effēminō, from fēmina (“woman”).
nigrescence
Mid 19th century. From Latin nigrescens, present active participle of nigrescō. By surface analysis, Latin nigr(ēre) + -escence.
albescence
Mid 18th century. From Latin albescens, present participle of albescō. By surface analysis, Latin alb(us) + -escence.
wroth
From Middle English wroth, wrooth, from Old English wrāþ, from Proto-Germanic *wraiþaz (“cruel”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to turn”). Akin to Saterland Frisian wreed (“haughty; proud”), Old Saxon wrēd (“evil”) (Dutch wreed (“cruel”)), Old High German reid (“cruel”), Old Norse reiðr (“angry”) (Danish vred, Swedish vred).
lycanthropy
Borrowed from Ancient Greek λῠκᾰνθρωπῐ́ᾱ (lŭkănthrōpĭ́ā), from λῠκᾰ́νθρωπος (lŭkắnthrōpos, “wolfman”). By surface analysis, lycanthrope + -y (abstract noun suffix).
tra
From Vietnamese (cá) tra, from Khmer ប្រា (praa, “certain Pangasius species”).
fra
PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
From Italian frate. See friar.
Shortened form of Italian frate (“monk”).
chauffeur
Borrowed from French chauffeur.
From French chauffeur (“heater, stoker”), as they were said to burn the feet of their victims to extort money.
camp
From Middle English kampe (“battlefield, open space”), from Old English camp (“battle, contest, battlefield, open space”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamp (“open field where military exercises are held, level plain”), from Latin campus (“open field, level plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂emp- (“to bend; crooked”). Reinforced circa 1520 by Middle French can, camp (“place where an army lodges temporarily”), from Old Northern French camp, from the same Latin (whence also French champ from Old French). Cognate with Old High German champf (“battle, struggle”) (German Kampf), Old Norse kapp (“battle”), Old High German hamf (“paralysed, maimed, mutilated”). Doublet of campus and champ.
The verb is from Middle English campen, from Old English campian, compian (“to fight, war against”), from Proto-West Germanic *kampōn (“to fight, do battle”), from *kamp (“field, battlefield, battle”), see above. Cognate with Dutch kampen, German kämpfen (“to struggle”), Danish kæmpe, Swedish kämpa.
Unknown. Suggested origins include the 17th century French word camper (“to put oneself in a pose”), an assumed dialectal English word *camp or *kemp (“rough, uncouth”) and a derivation from camp (n.) Believed to be from Polari, otherwise obscure.
From Spanish campo (“countryside”).
sepulchre
From Middle English sepulchre, sepulcre, sepulker, from late Old English sepulcer, Old French sepulchre, sepulcre, and their etymon Latin sepulchrum, sepulcrum (“grave, burial place”).
John the Baptist
From Middle English Johan þe Babtis, calqued from Latin Iōannēs Baptista.
mechanic
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *megʰ-der.?
Ancient Greek μηχᾰνή (mēkhănḗ)
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Ancient Greek -κός (-kós)
Ancient Greek -ῐκός (-ĭkós)
Ancient Greek μηχᾰνῐκός (mēkhănĭkós)bor.
Latin mēchanicusder.
Old French mecaniquebor.
Middle English mekanyk
English mechanic
From Middle English mekanyk (“mechanical”), from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus (“of or belonging to machines or mechanics, inventive”), from Ancient Greek μηχανικός (mēkhanikós, “pertaining to machines or contrivance, mechanic, ingenious, inventive”), from μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “a machine, contrivance”); see machine.
shrine
From Middle English shryne, from Old English scrīn (“reliquary, ark of the covenant”), from Medieval Latin scrīnium (“reliquary”), “case or chest for books or papers” in Classical Latin. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”). Compare Old Norse skrín, Old High German skrīni (German Schrein).
apostate
From Late Latin apostata, from Ancient Greek ἀποστάτης (apostátēs, “rebel”), from ἀφίστημι (aphístēmi, “to withdraw, revolt”), from ἀπό (apó, “from”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to stand”).
ugly duckling
Calque of Danish grim ælling. From the fairy tale of a duckling, considered ugly, that matures into a magnificent swan.
murderess
From Middle English morderes, from Old French morderesse, moeurdrese; equivalent to murder + -ess.
sup
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *sew-?
Proto-Indo-European *sewH-
Proto-Indo-European *peh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *su(H)ph₃néh₂-der.?
Proto-Germanic *suppōną
Proto-Germanic *sūpaną
Proto-West Germanic *sūpan
Old English sūpan
Middle English soupen
English sup
The verb is from Middle English soupen, from Old English sūpan (“to sip, drink, taste”), from Proto-Germanic *sūpaną (compare Dutch zuipen (“to drink, tipple, booze”), German saufen (“to drink, booze”), Swedish supa (“to drink, swallow”)), from Proto-Indo-European *sub-, compare Sanskrit सूप (sū́pa, “soup, broth”), from *sewe (“to take liquid”). More at suck.
The noun is from the verb. There is no evidence of continuity with Old English supa. Compare Middle English soupe, from Old English sūpe, which has the same meaning as Middle English sope (“a mouthful or small amount of drink”), from Old English sopa, whence sop.
Etymology tree
Anglo-Norman superbor.
Middle English soupen
English sup
From Middle English soupen, suppen, Anglo-Norman super, from supe, soupe. More at soup.
diocese
From Middle English diocise, from Old French diocese, from Late Latin diocēsis, from Latin dioecēsis (“district under a governor”), from Ancient Greek διοίκησις (dioíkēsis, “internal administration”).
bryndza
Borrowed from Slovak bryndza, from Romanian brânză (“cheese”), of uncertain origin; it was possibly borrowed from Albanian brëndës (“intestines”), or from a substrate language. Originally referred to cheeses prepared in a sheep's stomach by reacting with the rennet inside.
morgue
Borrowed from French morgue. The second sense developed from the first, via "a prison examination room", probably with reference to the haughty attitude of the jailers.
godfather
From Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder (“godfather”), equivalent to god- + father. Cognate with Old Saxon godfadar (“godfather”), Middle Dutch godvader (“godfather”), Danish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Swedish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Icelandic guðfaðir (“godfather”).
vara
Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”).
Borrowed from Spanish Vara.
clitic
From Ancient Greek κλιτικός (klitikós, “inflexional”).
enclitic
From Late Latin encliticus, from Ancient Greek ἐγκλιτικός (enklitikós, “inclined towards”), from ἐγκλίνειν (enklínein, “lean on”), from ἐν (en, “upon”) + κλίνειν (klínein, “to lean, incline”).
proclitic
From Ancient Greek προκλίνω (proklínō, “to lean forward”).
mytacism
From Ancient Greek μυτακισμός (mutakismós, “fondness of the letter mu”). By surface analysis from mu (Greek letter representing /m/) + -tacism.
paralian
Early 18th-century adoption into English as a common noun, with its earliest use credited to Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton.
From Ancient Greek Παράλιος (Parálios, “Paralian”), from παράλιος (parálios, “coastal, maritime”), from παρα- (para-, “beside, next to”) + ἅλς (háls, “salt, seawater”) + -ιος (-ios, adjectival suffix).
pasilaly
From French pasilalie, formed from Ancient Greek πᾶς (pâs, “all”) + λαλιά (laliá, “speech, dialect”).
carapace
Etymology tree
substrateder.?
Spanish carapachobor.
French carapacebor.
English carapace
Borrowed from French carapace (“tortoise shell”), from Spanish carapacho, of unknown origin, but likely from an extinct Ibero-Mediterranean substrate language.
Compare Catalan carabassa, Ancient Greek κάραβος (kárabos, “beetle”), Latin scarabaeus (the source of scarab); also Spanish galápago (“kind of turtle”). Doublet of calipash.
capel
From Old Norse [Term?] (whence Icelandic kapall), from Latin caballus.
yode
From Middle English ȝode, ȝede, eode, from Old English ēode, from Proto-Germanic *ijj-, a suppletive past tense form to Proto-Germanic *gāną (“to go”), and further from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“go”). Cognate with Latin eō (“go”), Russian идти (idti, “go”).
godmother
From Middle English godmoder, from Old English godmōdor (“godmother”), equivalent to god- + mother. Cognate with Old High German gotmuoter (“godmother”), Old Norse guðmóðir (“godmother”), Icelandic guðmóður (“godmother”), Swedish gudmoder (“godmother”), Danish gudmor (“godmother”).
godson
From Middle English godsone, gossone, from Old English godsunu (“godson”), equivalent to god- + son. Cognate with Danish gudsøn (“godson”), Swedish gudson (“godson”), Icelandic guðsonur (“godson”).
goddaughter
From Middle English goddoghter, goddoȝter, from Old English goddohtor (“goddaughter”), equivalent to god- + daughter. Cognate with Danish guddatter (“goddaughter”), Swedish guddotter (“goddaughter”), Icelandic guðdóttir (“goddaughter”).
mathematics
1580s; From mathematic (noun) + -ics, from Middle English mathematique, methametik, matematik, matamatik, from Old French mathematique, from Latin mathēmatica (“mathematics”), from Ancient Greek μαθηματικός (mathēmatikós, “on the matter of that which is learned”), from μάθημα (máthēma, “knowledge, study, learning”). Displaced native Old English rīmcræft.
puisne
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pós
Proto-Indo-European *-ti
Proto-Indo-European *pósti
Proto-Italic *posti
Old Latin poste
Latin post
Proto-Indo-European *íh₂
Latin ea
Latin posteā
Vulgar Latin *postius
Old French puis
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tós
Proto-Italic *gnātos
Latin gnātus
Latin nātus
Old French né
Old French puisné
Middle French puisnébor.
English puisne
 PIE word
 *pós
From Anglo-Norman puisné (“later, more recent; junior; weakly”) [and other forms] and Middle French puisné (“born after (a specified person); younger, youngest; one who is born after (a specified person)”) (modern French puîné (“cadet (born after a sibling); a cadet (someone born after a sibling)”)), from puis (“after; since”) + né (“born”). Puis is derived from Old French pois (“after; since”), from Vulgar Latin *postius (“afterward”), from Latin posteā (“afterwards; hereafter; thereafter; next, then”), from post (“after; since”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pós (“afterwards”)) + ea (“these (things)”); and né from Latin nātus (“born”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”).
nia
From Hokkien 爾／尔 (niā, “only”).
tio
Borrowed from Hokkien 著 (tio̍h).
Two main origins:
* Borrowed from Spanish Tío and Portuguese Tio, from tío (“uncle”) and tio (“uncle”).
* Borrowed from Catalan Tió, a nickname from tió (“log, stump for burning”).
math
From Middle English math, from Old English mǣþ (“a mowing, that which is mown, cutting of grass”), from Proto-Germanic *mēþą (“a mowing”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- (“to mow”); equivalent to mow + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with German Mahd (“a mowing, reaping”), West Frisian mêd (“area of land that can be mown in one day; domain, realm”). Related also to Old English mǣd (“mead, meadow, pasture”). See meadow.
mirror
From Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced native Middle English schewere, schawere, from Old English sċēawere (“mirror”, literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "spy".
fur
From Middle English furre, forre, from Anglo-Norman forre, fuerre (“a case; sheath”), from Frankish *fōdar, from Proto-West Germanic *fōdr, from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”) (compare Old English fōdor (“sheaf”), Dutch voering (“lining”), German Futter (“lining”), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐌳𐍂 (fōdr, “sheath”)), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-, *poh₂- (“to protect”) (compare Lithuanian piemuō (“protection”), Ancient Greek πῶῠ̈ (pôŭ̈, “flock”), πῶμα (pôma, “lid”), ποιμήν (poimḗn, “shepherd”), Old Armenian հաւրան (hawran, “herd, flock”), Northern Kurdish pawan (“to watch over”), Sanskrit पाति (pāti, “he watches, protects”).
The verb is from Middle English furren, from Anglo-Norman furrer, forrer, fourrer (“to line, stuff, fill”), from the noun.
theft
From Middle English theft, thefte, þefte, þefþe, þiefþe, Old English þīefþ, from Proto-West Germanic *þiubiþu, from Proto-Germanic *þiubiþō, from *þeubaz (“thief”), equivalent to thief or thieve + -t (abstract nominal suffix). Cognate with Old Frisian thiuvethe, thiufthe (“theft”), dialectal Dutch diefte (“theft”), obsolete German Diebde (“theft”), Icelandic þýfð (“theft”).
hoof
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós
Proto-Germanic *hōfaz
Proto-West Germanic *hōf
Old English hōf
Middle English hof
English hoof
Inherited from Middle English hof, houf, houve, hove, from Old English hōf, from Proto-Germanic *hōfaz (compare West Frisian hoef, Dutch hoef, German Huf, Danish hov, Norwegian hov, Swedish hov), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱoph₂ós (compare Sanskrit शफ (śaphá, “hoof, claw”), Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬟𐬀 (safa, “hoof”), possibly Czech, Polish kopyto).
hill
From Middle English hil (“hill”), from Old English hyll (“hill”), from Proto-West Germanic *hulli (“hill”), from Proto-Germanic *hulliz (“hill”), from Proto-Indo-European *kl̥Hnís (“top, hill, rock”) (compare also Proto-Germanic *halluz (“stone, rock”)).
Cognate with Middle Dutch hille, hulle (“hill”), Low German hull (“hill”), Faroese hólur (“hill”), Icelandic and Old Norse hóll (“hill”), Norn hul (“hillock”), Norwegian hol (“low hillock”), Swedish kulle (“hill”), Catalan coll (“hill”), Italian colle (“hill”), Latin collis (“hill”), Lithuanian kalnas (“hill, mountain”), Albanian kallumë (“big pile, tall heap”), Russian холм (xolm, “hill”), Old English holm (“rising land, island”). More at holm.
* As an English surname, from the noun hill, shortened from Hilary, and from Old English hild (“battle”).
* As a German surname, shortened from Hildebrand, related to the last sense above.
* As a Finnish surname, calque of Finnish Mäki (“hill”).
skeleton
From New Latin sceleton, from Ancient Greek σκελετόν (skeletón), the neuter of σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “dry, dry up, make dry, parch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”); compare Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).
The etymology of the term is disputed between two versions.
* From the sled used, which originally was a bare frame, like a skeleton.
* From Norwegian kjaelke (a type of ice sled) through a bad anglicization as "skele".
atrament
Inherited from Middle English atrament, from Latin ātrāmentum, from ātrāre (“to blacken”), from āter (“black”). First attested in the 14th century.
bookseller
From Middle English boksellere, bok-sillere, equivalent to book + seller.
merchant
Etymology tree
Proto-Italic *merks
Latin merx
Latin mercor
Latin mercānsder.
Anglo-Norman marchauntbor.
Middle English marchaunt
English merchant
From Middle English marchaunt, from Anglo-Norman marchaunt, from mercans, from the verb mercor (“to trade, deal, sell”).
driver
From Middle English drivere, dryvere, dryvare, equivalent to drive + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Drieuwer (“driver”), Dutch drijver (“driver”), German Low German Driever (“driver”), German Treiber (“driver”), Swedish drivare (“driver”).
derring-do
From Middle English daring (to) do, misinterpreted as a noun by Edmund Spenser.
lentil
From Middle English lentile, from Old French lentille from Latin lenticula, diminutive of lēns, from a pre-Indo-European substrate source shared by German Linse, Ancient Greek λάθυρος (láthuros) and Lithuanian lęšis. Doublet of lenticula.
corno
From Italian corno, from Latin cornu (“horn”). Doublet of corn (“callus”), cornu, and horn.
Colombo
From Portuguese Colombo, modification (under the influence of the Italian surname, see below) of Sinhalese කොලොන් තොට (kolon toṭa, literally “port on the river Kelani”). Other theories derive the name from Veddah; see w:Colombo § Etymology for more.
From Italian Colombo, from colombo (“pigeon, dove”).
Andreas
From Ancient Greek Ἀνδρέᾱς (Andréās), cognate with ἀνδρεῖος (andreîos, “manly”), both from ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”). Doublet of Andrew.
Jaffna
From Tamil யாழ்ப்பாணம் (yāḻppāṇam).
anniversary
From Middle English anniversary, from Medieval Latin anniversāria (diēs), anniversārium, from anniversārius (“yearly”), from annus (“year”) + versus, past participle of vertere (“to turn”).
aside
From Middle English aside, asyde, a-side, oside, from Middle English on side, from Old English on sīdan (literally “on (the) side (of)”), equivalent to a- + side. Compare beside.
oxide
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.?
Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxús)
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
Proto-Hellenic *génos
Ancient Greek γένος (génos)
French oxygène
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-der.
Latin aceō
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der.
Proto-Italic *-iðos
Latin -idus
Latin acidusbor.
French acide
blend
French oxidebor.
English oxide
Archaic French oxide (now oxyde), from a blend of ox(ygene) and (ac)ide, coined by G. de Morveau and A. Lavoisier. By surface analysis, ox- + -ide.
preacher
From Middle English precher, prechere; partly equivalent to preach + -er, and partly continuing Middle English prechour, prechiour, from Old French preecheor (French prêcheur), from Latin praedicator (“public praiser, proclaimer”). See preach.
Displaced native Old English bydel.
range
From Middle English rengen, from Old French rengier (“to range, to rank, to order,”), from the noun renc, reng, ranc, rang (“a rank, row”), from Frankish *hring, from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“ring, circle, curve”). Doublet of ring.
pes
From Latin pēs (“foot”). Doublet of foot, pie (“Spanish unit of length”), and pous.
pal
PIE word
 *bʰréh₂tēr
Borrowed from Angloromani pal (“brother, friend”), from Romani phral (“brother”), from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrātṛ, “brother”). Doublet of bhai, brother, bru, frater, friar, and vai.
Dervish
From Turkish derviş, from Persian درویش (darviš).
From Ottoman Turkish درویش (derviş), from Persian درویش (darvêš, “poor; Sufi mystic”), from Middle Persian dlgwš (driyōš, “poor, needy”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *drigu-, cognate with Sanskrit ध्रिगु (dhrigu, “needy”) and Avestan 𐬛𐬭𐬌𐬔𐬎 (driguš).
circumcision
From Middle English circumcisioun, from Old French circumcisiun (modern French circoncision) and its etymon Latin circumcīsiōn-, from circumcīdō (“cut around”), from circum (“about, around; through”) + caedō (“cut, hew”). By surface analysis, circumcis(e) + -ion.
column
From Middle English columne, columpne, columpe, borrowed from Old French columne, from Latin columna (“a column, pillar, post”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”). Akin to Latin collis (“a hill”), celsus (“high”), probably to Ancient Greek κολοφών (kolophṓn, “top, summit”).
Mozarab
From Spanish mozárabe, from Arabic مُسْتَعْرِب (mustaʕrib).
alchemy
From Old French alkimie, arquemie (French alchimie), from Medieval Latin alchēmia, from Arabic اَلْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ), from Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā, “art of alloying metals”), from χύμα (khúma, “ingot, bar”). Compare Spanish alquimia and Italian alchimia.
bannock
Etymology tree
Latin pānicumder.
Old Irish bannachder.
Old English bannuc
Middle English bannoke
English bannock
From Middle English bannoke, from Old English bannuc, perhaps from a Goidelic word (compare Irish bonnóg, Manx bonnag, Scottish Gaelic bonnach), possibly from Latin pānicum (“millet”). Doublet of bonnag.
Derived from Northern Paiute Pannakwatɨ (“Bannock”).
Richard
From Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus and Ricohardus, from Frankish *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”). Cognate with Old High German Rīcohard (“Richard”). A hypothetical Old English equivalent *Rīċheard would also yield an identical "Richard" in Modern English, though it is unknown if the Old English equivalent existed.
con-
Etymology tree
Old French con-bor.
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Proto-Italic *kom-
Latin con-bor.
Middle English con-
English con-
Inherited from Middle English con-, from Latin con-, from cum (“with”).
calaboose
From Cajun French calabousse, from Spanish calabozo. Doublet of calabozo.
spaghetti
The noun is borrowed from Italian spaghetti, the plural of spaghetto (“dish of spaghetti; (rare) strand of spaghetti”), from spago (“cord, string, twine; thread”) + -etto (diminutive suffix). Spago is derived from Latin spagus (“twine”), probably from Ancient Greek σφάκος (sphákos, “apple sage (Salvia pomifera)”), probably from Pre-Greek. The verb is derived from the noun.
noodle
Borrowed from Dutch noedel (“noodle”), or from its etymon German Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”); further etymology uncertain, probably a variant of Knödel (“dumpling”), from Middle High German knödel (“dumpling; small knot”), and then either:
* from knode, knote (“knot”) (from Old High German knodo, knoto (“knot”), perhaps ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *knappō (“knob; boy”)) + -el (diminutive suffix); or
* from Ladin menùdli (“small dough dumpling in soup”), probably from Latin minutulus (“very small, tiny”) (in the sense of food chopped into small pieces), a diminutive of minūtus (“diminished; having been diminished”), the perfect passive participle of minuō (“to make smaller, diminish, lessen, reduce”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”).
Cognates
* French nouille, noudle, nudeln
* Swedish nudel
Possibly either:
* a blend of Shetland Scots nune (“to sing softly, croon, hum”) (from Danish nynne, Norwegian nuna, nynna (“to hum; to sing”), originally imitative) + English doodle (“to play the bagpipes”) (chiefly Scotland); or
* from Norn (unattested), from Old Norse *grynta, from Proto-Germanic *grunnatjaną (“to grunt”), a frequentative of Proto-Germanic *grunnōną (“to grunt”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrun- (“to shout”) (and thus a doublet of grunt).
The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly derived:
* from noodle (“to hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume”) (Shetland) (see etymology 3); or
* from German nudeln (“to make music or sing listlessly; to make music or sing at a low pitch or volume, or in an improvisatory manner”) (Leipzig), apparently from Nudel (“piece of pasta, noodle”) (see etymology 1) + -n (a variant of -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs)).
The word was probably also influenced by doodle (“to draw or scribble aimlessly”, verb).
The noun is probably derived from the verb, though the verb is first attested later. The noun was probably also influenced by doodle (“small mindless sketch”, noun).