Doddered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Moved in a shaky or trembling way typically due to frailty or old age
2. Walked with an unsteady, faltering gait as a result of physical weakness or elderly condition
3. Progressed in a tottering or uncertain manner caused by aging or declining strength

Etymology: The past tense of "dodder," which is a verb meaning to walk unsteadily, especially with age. The "-ed" ending is simply the regular past-tense marker, so the interesting history lies in the stem. That stem may come from "dod," an old verb meaning to poll or lop off the top of a tree, as a pollard willow is cut back. A "doddered" oak was one whose top had been cut away, leaving a stunted, shaky trunk, and that picture of a worn, top-lopped tree may be behind the later sense of a frail, tottering person. The picture is murky, though. Earlier, "dottard" or "dotard," meaning a senile old person, was used in the same tree-lopping sense, and the forms seem to have blended. Later, "doddered" also picked up association with "dodder," a word for a rambling, twining plant, and perhaps with a second verb "dodder," meaning to tremble or shake, which may have reinforced the sense of unsteady movement.

Synonyms: tottered, wobbled

Antonyms: stabilized