Link Centre Dictionary

nuzzle

UK/ˈnʌzl̩/ US/ˈnʌz(ə)l/ uncommon literary obsolete rare

verb

1.

move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cozy position

  • “We cuddled against each other to keep warm”
  • “The children snuggled into their sleeping bags”
Synonyms
2.

rub noses

Synonyms
3.

dig out with the snout

  • “the pig nuzzled the truffle”

Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English noselen (“to bend down”); further etymology uncertain, possibly: * a back-formation from noseling, noselyng (“on the back, supine; with the face downward, prone”, adverb), from nose (“nose”) (from Old English nosu, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s (“nose”)) + -ling, -lyng (suffix forming adverbs denoting direction, manner, or position); or * from nose (see above) + -el, -elen (diminutive or frequentative suffix) (in which case the English word is, by surface analysis, nose + -le (frequentative suffix)). Etymology 1, verb sense 2.3 (“to settle or lie comfortably and snugly”) is possibly influenced by nestle or nursle (frequentative of nurse). The noun is derived from the verb. Compare nozzle.

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Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.