dotage en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈdəʊtɪdʒ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈdoʊtɪd͡ʒ/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English dotage, from doten (“to dote”) + -age; equivalent to dote + -age.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) Decline in judgment and other cognitive functions, associated with aging; senility.
"More care!" said the old man in a shrill voice, […] there were in his face marks of deep and anxious thought which convinced me that he could not be, as I had been at first inclined to suppose, in a state of dotage or imbecility.
1840 April – 1841 November, Charles Dickens, “Chapter the First”, in The Old Curiosity Shop. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1841, →OCLC, page 41:
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(countable, uncountable) Fondness or attentiveness, especially to an excessive degree.
Claudio And ſhe is exceeding wiſe. Prince In euery thing but in louing Benedicke. […] I would ſhee had beſtowed this dotage on mee, […]
1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, Much Adoe about Nothing. […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], signature D2, verso:
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(countable, uncountable) Foolish utterance(s); drivel.
No leſs are they out of the way in Philoſophy, peſtring their heads with the ſapleſs dotages of old Paris and Salamanca.
1642 April, John Milton, An Apology for Smectymnuus; republished in A Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume I, Amsterdam [actually London: s.n.], 1698, →OCLC, page 193:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dotages | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
second childhood (loss of mental acuity associated with aging)
Translations (38)
nl dementie (senility) · de Senilität (senility) · cs senilita (senility) · cmn 老耄 (senility) · pdt Ellaschwakheit (senility) · cmn 老迷糊 (senility) · es senilidad (senility) · de Altersschwäche (senility) · mi pēperekōutanga (senility) · ja もうろく (senility) · hu öregkor (senility) · fr sénilité (senility) · hu elgyengülés (senility) · gl senilidade (senility) · bg сенилност (senility) · fr débilité sénile (senility) · ja 認知症 (senility) · hu gyengeség (senility) · cmn 失智症 (senility) · hu szenilitás (senility) · cs senilnost (senility) · nl seniliteit (senility) · hu leépülés (senility) · hu elgyengültség (senility) · pl zdziecinnienie (senility) · el ξεμώραμα (senility) · hu vénség (senility) · hu leépültség (senility) · fi vanhuudenhöperöys (senility) · es chochez (senility) · ja 耄碌 (senility) · bg изкуфяване (senility) · ru ста́рческое слабоу́мие (senility) · tr ihtiyarlık (senility) · hu időskor (senility) · ru ста́рческий мара́зм (senility) · el παλιμπαιδισμός (senility) · mn зөнөглөх (senility)