dote

[doht]

verb (used without object), dot·ed, dot·ing. Also doat.

to bestow or express excessive love or fondness habitually (usually followed by on or upon): They dote on their youngest daughter.

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

noun

decay of wood.

Origin of dote

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

Related formsdot·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for doted

fawn, cherish, praise, nurture, flatter, adulate, brown-nose, blandish, cajole

Examples from the Web for doted

Contemporary Examples of doted

Long divorced, he doted on his grown children and guarded his solitude.
Spending a Day With Peter O’Toole
Malcolm Jones
December 16, 2013
Pal Rich Collins says Nancy doted on Adam but was terribly sad that her son never “hugged her back.”
The Trials of Nancy Lanza
Diane Dimond
January 7, 2013

Historical Examples of doted

I married a lady of wealth and affluence, one I loved and doted on.
An Outcast
F. Colburn Adams
To crown their happiness, they were blessed with two lovely children on whom they doted.
Among the Sioux
R. J. Creswell
He was the best man that ever—pard, you would have doted on that man.
Roughing It
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
How she doted on him because he considered his present state to be a purgatory!
The Belton Estate
Anthony Trollope
It was dreadful of me, I know, to think of it, but I knew he doted on me.
The Riddle of the Mysterious Light
Mary E. Hanshew

British Dictionary definitions for doted

dote

now rarely doat

verb (intr)

(foll by on or upon) to love to an excessive or foolish degree

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

Derived Formsdoter or now rarely doater, noun

Word Origin for dote

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for doted

dote

c.1200, "to be feeble-minded from age," from Middle Low German doten "be foolish," of unknown origin. Meaning "to be infatuated" is from late 15c. Related: Doted; dotes; doting.