The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. Any of a breed of dogs originally developed in Europe as hunting dogs, having thick curly hair of varying color, and classified by shoulder height into standard, miniature, and toy varieties.
n. Any of various breeds of dog originating in Europe as hunting dogs, and having heavy, curly fur in a solid color; their shoulder height indicates their classification as standard, miniature, or toy.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. A breed of dogs having curly hair, and often showing remarkable intelligence in the performance of tricks.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. One of a breed of usually undersized fancy or toy dogs, with long curly hair.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. an intelligent dog with a heavy curly solid-colored coat that is usually clipped; an old breed sometimes trained as sporting dogs or as performing dogs
Word Usage
"In fact the name poodle comes from the German word Pudel, which is short for Pudelhund, or splashing dog."