dodder

¹

[dod-er]

verb (used without object)

1. to shake; tremble; totter.

dodder

²

[dod-er]

noun

1. a leafless parasitic plant, Cuscuta gronovii, having dense clusters of small, white, bell-shaped flowers on orange-yellow stems that twine about clover or flax.

dodder

¹

/ ˈdɒdə /

verb

1. to move unsteadily; totter

2. to shake or tremble, as from age

dodder

²

/ ˈdɒdə /

noun

1. any rootless parasitic plant of the convolvulaceous genus Cuscuta , lacking chlorophyll and having slender twining stems with suckers for drawing nourishment from the host plant, scalelike leaves, and whitish flowers

Other Word Forms

• dodderer noun
• doddery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dodder¹

First recorded in 1610–20; origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of dadder “to shake, tremble,” of expressive origin; dither, totter, teeter, etc.

Origin of dodder²

1225–75; Middle English doder; cognate with Dutch, Danish dodder, Middle Low German dod ( d ) er, Middle High German toter, German Dotter

Word History and Origins

Origin of dodder¹

C17: variant of earlier dadder; related to Norwegian dudra to tremble

Origin of dodder²

C13: of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch, Middle Low German dodder, Middle High German toter

Example Sentences

Offstage, he was a doddering, stammering dad shuffling around rooms bustling with yapping tiny dogs urinating everywhere.

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While Biden has been vulnerable to right-wing online trolls who portrayed him as doddering and confused, recent attempts to troll and negatively meme Harris have backfired, Miller said.

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More than that, Trump and his strategists are thoroughly convinced that Biden is a walking, or rather, doddering disaster.

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The Marquess of Tilbury’s doddering hand rose to his pocket handkerchief.

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She was supposed to play the reasonable, relatable young mom to Joe Biden’s supposedly doddering old man who, in his address, came out swinging.

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