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dod·der 1 (dŏdər)
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intr.v. dod·dered, dod·der·ing, dod·ders
1. To shake or tremble, as from old age; totter.
2. To move in a feeble, unsteady manner.

[Alteration of Middle English daderen, probably of imitative origin.]

dodder·er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
dod·der 2 (dŏdər)
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n.
Any of various leafless, annual parasitic herbs of the genus Cuscuta that lack chlorophyll and have slender, twining, yellow or reddish stems and small whitish flowers.

[Middle English doder, possibly from Middle Dutch, yolk of an egg (from the yellow color of the blossom of one species of this plant).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.