dote

[doht]

verb (used without object)

doted, doting 

1. to bestow or express excessive love or fondness habitually (usually followed by on orupon ).

   They dote on their youngest daughter.

2. to show a decline of mental faculties, especially associated with old age.

noun

1. decay of wood.

dote

/ dəʊt /

verb

1. to love to an excessive or foolish degree

2. to be foolish or weak-minded, esp as a result of old age

Other Word Forms

• doter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dote¹

1175–1225; Middle English doten “to behave foolishly, become feeble-minded”; cognate with Middle Dutch doten

Word History and Origins

Origin of dote¹

C13: related to Middle Dutch doten to be silly, Norwegian dudra to shake

Example Sentences

So if “Peacemaker” viewers were puzzled as to how a backwards, murderous bigot like Earth Prime Auggie could manifest as a doting father and an affluent man in a nearly identical world, now we know.

From Salon

We’re introduced to him not as a thief, but as a doting father who wakes at the crack of dawn, tenderly lays his son in bed next to his sister, and heads off to work.

From Salon

"He doted on his granddaughters - he really did," she said.

From BBC

His 69-year-old mother doted on him, cooking for him, rubbing his feet, and praying with him.

From Los Angeles Times

They noted that such tokens of affection didn't erase motive - after all, a "doting mother" can also be a "suspicious wife," they said.

From BBC

Related Words

• cherish