Nod"dy (?), n.; pl. Noddies (#). [Prob. fr. nod to incline the head, either as in assent, or from drowsiness.]
1.
A simpleton; a fool.
L'Estrange.
2. Zool. (a)
Any tern of the genus Anous, as A. stolidus.
(b)
The arctic fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). Sometimes also applied to other sea birds.
3.
An old game at cards.
Halliwell.
4.
A small two-wheeled one-horse vehicle.
5.
An inverted pendulum consisting of a short vertical flat spring which supports a rod having a bob at the top; -- used for detecting and measuring slight horizontal vibrations of a body to which it is attached.
© Webster 1913.