[pud.dle] n [ME podel; akin to LG pudel puddle, OE pudd ditch] (14c) 1: a very small pool of usu. dirty or muddy water
2. a: an earthy mixture (as of clay, sand, and gravel) worked while wet into a compact mass that becomes impervious to water when dry b: a thin mixture of soil and water for puddling plants
[2]puddle vb pud.dled ; pud.dling vi (15c): to dabble or wade around in a puddle ~ vt 1: to make muddy or turbid: muddle
2. a: to work (a wet mixture of earth or concrete) into a dense impervious mass b: to subject (iron) to the process of puddling 3 a: to strew with puddles b: to compact (soil) esp. by working when too wet c: to dip the roots of (a plant) in a thin mud before transplanting -- pud.dler n