pudgy

[puhj-ee] /ˈpʌdʒ i/

adjective, pudgier, pudgiest.

short and fat or thick:

an infant's pudgy fingers.

Also, especially British, podgy.

Origin

1830-40; origin uncertain

Related forms

pudgily, adverb

pudginess, noun

Examples from the web for pudgy

His body has slipped back into a normal shape, slightly pudgy.
Visitors never seemed to tire of watching the pudgy couple munch bamboo.
Some rescued pictures of the pudgy dictator before searching for trapped relations.
In one case, it looked to be true, although genially pudgy would probably be a more accurate description than simply fat.
The closest family resemblance was the pudgy fingers with which he plunked the ivories.
He is sixty years old, bald and pudgy, and was wearing a purple open-necked shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
Bed bugs turn out to be rather cute under high magnification, all pudgy and bug-eyed.
The thicker mustache and the pudgy folded hand with thumb tucked under cover his mouth.
Lackey is short and pudgy, with the requisite shaved head of a new media hipster.
Maybe it's because these pudgy birds are widely known as monogamists.

British Dictionary definitions for pudgy

pudgy

/ˈpʌdʒɪ/

adjective pudgier, pudgiest

a variant spelling (esp US) of podgy

Derived Forms

pudgily, adverb
pudginess, noun

Word Origin

C19: of uncertain origin; compare earlier pudsy plump, perhaps from Scottish pud stomach, plump child

Word Origin and History for pudgy

adj.

also podgy, 1824, from colloquial pudge "anything short and thick" + -y (2). Perhaps related to pudsy "plump" (1754), possibly a diminutive of nursery word pud "hand, forepaw" (from 17c.). A connection with pudding also has been conjectured. In late 19c. often on lists of English local or dialectal words; sources also mention puddy, punchy, pluggy, pudget as relatives or variants. Related: Pudginess.