tidder en · VERB
Etymology
From Middle English tidren, from Old English tīdrian, tȳdrian (“to become weak or infirm; be frail”), from Proto-Germanic *tūdrijaną (“to become brittle or weak; exhaust”), from Proto-Germanic *tūdrijaz (“brittle; weak; exhausted”), equivalent to Old English tid + -er. Related to Old English tiddre, tyddre, tēdre, tīdre, tȳdre (“weak; fragile”), West Frisian tear (“tender; gentle”), Dutch teder (“tender; fond; gentle; loving”), German Low German teder (“fine; delicate; sensitive; tender; weak”).
Meanings
-
(dialectal) To treat with tenderness; fondle
Their doings now were jubilational— What quiet folks would call sensational. Their goodies they unpack excitedly, Their Common Grandsire greet delightedly, With gentle, sympathetic tiddering. When from his tree-top he called diddering, All "gramps," Wag said, are worth considering.
1916 July, Rose O'Neill, “The Kewpies and their Fairy Cousin”, in Good Housekeeping, volume 63, number 1, page 88:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tiddered | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| tiddered | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| tiddering | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| tidders | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |