#3: Canoodle

Definition:

to engage in amorous embracing, caressing, and kissing

Example:

"The honeymooners are ubiquitous. They cuddle on the beaches, and they maneuver kayaks across the clear, turquoise waterways. They hold hands and canoodle at dinner in dimly lit restaurants." – Ron Donoho, San Diego Magazine, January 2009

About the Word:

The origins of canoodle are obscure. Our best guess is that it may come from an English dialect noun of the same spelling meaning "donkey, fool, or foolish lover," which itself may be an alteration of the word noodle, meaning "a foolish person."

That noodle in turn may come from noddle, a word for the head. The guess seems reasonable given that, since its appearance in the language around the mid-19th century, canoodle has been most often used jocularly for playful public displays of affection by couples who are head over heels in love.