doting

[doh-ting]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR doting ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

excessively fond: doting parents.

showing a decline of mental faculties, especially associated with old age; weak-minded; senile.

Origin of doting

First recorded in 1480–90; dote + -ing²

Related formsdot·ing·ly, adverbdot·ing·ness, nounun·dot·ing, adjective

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 doting

affectionate, loving, adoring, devoted, struck, fascinated, fatuous, fond, foolish, lovesick, silly, simple, lovesome

Examples from the Web for doting

Contemporary Examples of doting

He is also said to have been a good father and now a doting grandfather.
Ex-Cop’s Shooting of Texting Moviegoer Ends in Tragedy
Michael Daly
January 15, 2014
There are the doting mother, wild brother, and distant father.
Jimmy Connors Memoir Shows He Wasn’t Misunderstood, He Was Just a Jerk
James Zug
May 14, 2013
The Moscow regime is denying them a chance; a chance at an extraordinary life with doting parents in a wealthier country.
How Difficult Russian Adoptions Were, Even Before Vladimir Putin’s Crackdown
Lauren Ashburn
December 31, 2012
Even her husband, a gruff French surgeon who is more “Tiger Mom” than doting dad, thought the email was a bit curt.
Nick Crews’s Daughter on Her Dad’s Viral Smackdown
Lizzie Crocker
December 1, 2012
Put another way, they are what every doting parent wants their precocious toddler to grow up to become.
Unlock Your Inner Psychopath: Kevin Dutton’s ‘The Wisdom of Psychopaths’
Robert Herritt
October 19, 2012

Historical Examples of doting

And how comes it she's so afraid of the soldiers, if she's doting?
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume I (of II)
Charles James Lever
Her hands were fumbling with the clothes of this doting rival.
Fantazius Mallare
Ben Hecht
I was pleased to notice that her nudity did not this time appeal to my doting madness.
Fantazius Mallare
Ben Hecht
The Pyramids themselves, doting with age, have forgotten the names of their founders.
Familiar Quotations
John Bartlett
I was never able to tell my fond and doting mother that I, like her, had taken a prize.
Pussy and Doggy Tales
Edith Nesbit

British Dictionary definitions for doting

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 doting

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.