dodder

¹ American  

[dod-er] / ˈdɒd ər /

verb (used without object)

1. to shake; tremble; totter.

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dodder ² American  

[dod-er] / ˈdɒd ər /

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.

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dodder ¹ British  

/ ˈdɒdə /

verb

1. to move unsteadily; totter

2. to shake or tremble, as from age

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dodder ² British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• dodderer noun
• doddery adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

When you dodder, you walk in a shaky or trembling way. You're most likely to see older people dodder, moving slowing and unsteadily. People usually dodder because of illness, disability, or the fragility of very old age. Your great Aunt Martha may dodder over to you, but then give you a powerful bear hug when she gets there. The verb dodder dates from the 1600's, and it's thought to have probably come from the Middle English daderen, "to quake or tremble."

Example Sentences

The supporting cast gets to dodder about as magnified versions of Ibsen’s melodramatic figures, with Jamie Smithson a particular hoot as Hedda’s Olympian-grade nerd of a husband.

From Washington Post • Mar. 25, 2019

And there are the plants that have strayed from their photosynthetic ways and turned to the dark side — the parasites, such as Cuscuta, or dodder.

From Nature • Feb. 28, 2017

Note that the vines of the dodder, which has white flowers, are beige.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Lithgow's Tobias is content to dodder on the margins, but when he's forced by Agnes to assume responsibility as head of the house, he summons the necessary strength.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2014

I dodder down to the station with Mom as if I’m eighty-nine.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson