poodle

From German Pudel, a shortened form of Pudelhund, a compound of Hund ("dog") and Pudel/Pūdel ("puddle"), itself from the onomatopoeic pudeln ("to splash about"). The noun sense is first attested in 1773.

The word began as a name pointing to a splashy habit, then narrowed to mean a specific breed of dog. Later, a verb sense developed, referring to the look of a poodle's shaved legs, which show bare skin.

Pudel itself echoes pudeln, the German word for splashing about — the dog was literally named for making puddles.