dotard
Americannoun
-
a person exhibiting a decline in mental faculties, especially as a result of aging.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dotard
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English doterd, dooterd, dootarde; see origin at dote, -ard
Explanation
You might think of the eccentric old man next door as a dotard, but it wouldn't be very polite to refer to him that way out loud. A dotard is a person who's old and senile. The noun dotard used to be a standard way to insult someone by implying that they were physically and mentally decrepit. Shakespeare, Chaucer, and J.R.R. Tolkien all used it regularly as a put-down between characters. Dotard is much less common these days. It comes from the Middle Low German doten, "be foolish," and when correctly pronounced, it rhymes with goatherd.
Vocabulary lists containing dotard
This Week in Words: September 17 - 24, 2017
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He dubbed Kim as "Little Rocket Man", in return Pyongyang nicknamed Trump "Dotard".
From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025
Dotard is defined as "a person in his or her dotage", with dotage described as "a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise and alertness".
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2017
Dotard invites her to live with him again.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dotard, new warriors urge thee to be gone.
From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 3 by Motteux, Peter Anthony
Dotard, have a care!" cried Göbel, threateningly, "and trifle with me no longer.
From Tales of the Wonder Club, Volume II by Huth, Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
