dodderyadj.
/ˈdɒdəri/ Apt to tremble or totter, from age or infirmity; shaky.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > vibration > [adjective] > trembling or quivering
tremblinga1400
aspen?c1412
quavering?a1439
didderingc1440
wavering1488
quavery1519
quiveringa1547
warbling1549
tremble1568
quiverish1582
tremefacting1599
aguisha1602
tremulous1611
twittering1648
brandishing1658
micant1661
shivery1747
shivering1762
tremulating1813
dithing1818
dithering1821
quivery1833
tremulant1837
trembly1846
thrilling1850
trepidatory1881
shuddering1893
doddery1919
1866 E. Lynn Linton Lizzie Lorton III. ix. 245 A puir lile diddery doddery horphan.]
1919 J. Buchan Mr. Standfast xvii When he got on his feet he was as doddery as an old man.
1921 Chambers's Jrnl. May 325/1 The old man..seemed to have become very doddery as he descended from the buggy.
1963 H. Calisher Textures of Life ii. 35 Its thick-walled ambling waste of space and doddery pediment.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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adj.1919