noddy

UK: /ˈnɒdi/ US: (nod′ē)

Inflections of 'noddy' (n): npl: noddies

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

nod•dy  (nod′ē), n., pl. -dies. 

1. Birds any of several dark-bodied terns of the genera Anous and Micranous found about the coasts and islands in warm seas of both the New and Old Worlds, often so tame as to seem stupid.
2. a fool or simpleton;
   noodle.

• perh. noun, nominal use of obsolete noddy (adjective, adjectival) silly. See nod, -y¹ 1520–30

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

noddy / ˈnɒdɪ/ noun ( -dies)

1. any of several tropical terns of the genus Anous, esp A. stolidus (common noddy), typically having a dark plumage
2. a foolish person

Etymology: 16th Century: perhaps noun use of obsolete noddy foolish, drowsy, perhaps from nod (vb); the bird is so called because it allows itself to be caught by hand

noddy / ˈnɒdɪ/ noun ( -dies)

1. (usually plural) film footage of an interviewer's reactions to comments made by an interviewee, used in editing the interview after it has been recorded

Etymology: 20th Century: from nod