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puddly

 - 3 dictionary results

pud⋅dle

  [puhd-l] noun, verb, -dled, -dling.
Use puddly in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small pool of water, as of rainwater on the ground.
2. a small pool of any liquid.
3. clay or the like mixed with water and tempered, used as a waterproof lining for the walls of canals, ditches, etc.
–verb (used with object)
4. to mark or scatter with puddles.
5. to wet with dirty water, mud, etc.
6. to make (water) muddy or dirty.
7. to muddle or confuse.
8. to make (clay or the like) into puddle.
9. to cover with pasty clay or puddle.
10. Metallurgy. to subject (molten iron) to the process of puddling.
11. to destroy the granular structure of (soil) by agricultural operations on it when it is too wet.
12. Horticulture. to dip the roots of (a tree, shrub, etc.) into a thin mixture of loam and water to retard drying out during transplanting.
–verb (used without object)
13. to wade in a puddle: The children were puddling.
14. to be or become puddled: The backyard was puddling.
Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME puddel, podel, pothel, appar. dim. of OE pudd ditch, furrow (akin to LG pudel puddle); (v.) late ME pothelen, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
puddler, noun
puddly, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To puddly
pud·dle   (pŭd'l)   
n.  

    1. A small pool of water, especially rainwater.

    2. A small pool of a liquid.

  2. A tempered paste of wet clay and sand that serves as waterproofing when dry.

v.   pud·dled, pud·dling, pud·dles

v.   tr.

  1. To make muddy.

  2. To work (clay or sand) into a thick watertight paste.

  3. To process (impure metal) by puddling.

v.   intr.
To splash or dabble in or as if in a pool of liquid.

[Middle English podel, diminutive of Old English pudd, ditch.]
pud'dly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

puddle  (n.)
c.1330, freq. or dim. of O.E. pudd "ditch," related to Ger. pudeln "to splash in water" (cf. poodle). Originally used of pools and ponds as well. The verb "to dabble in water, poke in mud" (1440) led to sense in iron manufacture of "to turn and stir (molten iron) in a furnace."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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