nurdle
n.— «Casting aspersions on all the “nurdle” explanations that have gone before, E.R. McSwine explains, with an air of authority, that the word came from “nodule,” which was part of the original phrase, “Styrofoam packing nodules.”» —“Compliments to One and All” by Leah Garchik San Francisco Chronicle (California) Oct. 9, 1997. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s up with ketchup? The shifting history and spelling of the name of this condiment. For centuries, ketchup was a fishy sauce originating in Asia—the tomatoes came only later! Plus, a new book shows what’s lost when a language dies: when there...
Amid a 1796 heat wave, Jane Austen wrote to her sister, “What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Jane Austen’s Continual State of Inelegance in a...