Early 17th century, variant of dialectal dadder, from Middle English daderen (“to quake, tremble”), ultimately from the root of dither. Compare Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).
Meanings
(intransitive) To shake or tremble as one moves, especially as of old age or childhood; to totter.
Yossarian responded to the thought by slipping away stealthily from the police and almost tripped over the feet of a burly woman of forty hastening across the intersection guiltily, darting furtive, vindictive glances behind her toward a woman of eighty with thick, bandaged ankles doddering after her in a losing pursuit. 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Eternal City”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 432:
Their neighbours have been, on one side, an old man who dodders around in his dressing gown talking to himself, and on the other a stand-offish couple who pretend not to understand the Spanish he speaks. 2013, J. M. Coetzee, The Childhood of Jesus, Melbourne, Australia: The Text Publishing Company, pages 59–60:
mi tārutu (shake or tremble) · cs třást se (shake or tremble) · ru трясти́сь (shake or tremble) · th สั่น (shake or tremble) · th โยกเยก (shake or tremble) · hu botorkál (shake or tremble) · bg треперя от слабост (shake or tremble) · de tattern (shake or tremble) · ta தள்ளாடு (shake or tremble) · mk тре́се (shake or tremble) · cs klepat se (shake or tremble) · cs chvět se (shake or tremble) · pl trząść się (shake or tremble)
From Middle English doder (“flax dodder”), from Middle Dutch doder, from Old Dutch *doder, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *dodr (viz. theories of origin). Cognate with Middle Low German doder, West Flemish dodder.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) Any of about 100–170 species of yellow, orange or red (rarely green) parasitic plants of the genus Cuscuta. Formerly treated as the only genus in the family Cuscutaceae, it is now placed in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae.
cmn 菟絲 /菟丝 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · fi humalanvieras (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · la cassytas (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · nl warkruid (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · eo kuskuto (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · br neud-gad (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · vo kuskut (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · he כְּשׁוּת (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · lt brantas (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · la cuscūta (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · as তেলাকুচা (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ca cuscuta (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · hu aranka (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · pt cuscuta (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · am ዶደር (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ca cabells d'angel (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · cmn 蓎蒙 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · la cassythas (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · gl gorga (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · trc cuaa̱n (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · la cadytas (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · nv tsiighájíłchí (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · gl sirgo da raposa (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · akk 𒃢 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · arc כְּשׁוּתָא (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · es cuscuta (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ru повили́ка (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · syc ܟܫܽܘܬܳܐ (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ka აბრეშუმა (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · cop ⲡⲁⲑⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · de Seide (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · th ฝอยทอง (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · sv nässelsnärja (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · hy գաղձ (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · de Teufelszwirn (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · cmn 菟 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ja 根無葛 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · gl moudaña (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · sq helmëz (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · bg кукувича прежда (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ar حَامُول (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · pl kanianka (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ca cúscuta (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · sq kuskutë (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · sk kokotica (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · mi māwhai (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ko 새삼 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · fr cuscute (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · it cuscuta (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · br blev-diaoul (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · el κουσκούτα (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · uk повити́ця (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · nrf touothelle (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · gl barbas de raposo (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · cmn 女蘿 /女萝 (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · tr küsküt (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · grc κασύτας (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · lv vija (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · grc καδύτας (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ga clamhán (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · cs kokotice (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · af dodder (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · ar كُشُوث (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta) · cy llindro (parasitic plant (of about 100–170 species) of the genus Cuscuta)