Dottard

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An elderly man whose mental powers have declined so far that he has become foolish, forgetful, or childish
2. A doddering old fellow who has grown weak in mind and behaves in a silly, feeble way
3. An aged male person suffering from dotage, showing the confusion and frailty of advanced senility

Etymology: A dotard is someone whose mind has weakened with age, and the word is built from "dote" and the suffix "-ard." In Middle English, "doten" meant to be silly, foolish, or muddled, and the sense of being senile developed from that. The love sense of "dote" (to be foolishly fond of someone) came later, so the old meaning of foolishness survives in "dotard" more clearly than in "dote" itself. The suffix "-ard" came into English from Old French and usually marks a person defined by a habit or trait, as in "drunkard" and "braggart." Pairing it with "dote" gives a label for someone characterized by that foolishness. The origin of "dote" itself is uncertain, with possible links to Scandinavian or Dutch words, so the exact source of the root remains unclear.

Synonyms: dotard, dodderer, old fool, codger