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dodder

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dod⋅der

1[dod-er]
–verb (used without object)
to shake; tremble; totter.

Origin:
1610–20; cf. dither, totter, teeter, etc.


dod⋅der⋅er, noun

dod⋅der

2[dod-er]
–noun
a leafless parasitic plant, Cuscuta gronovii, having dense clusters of small, white, bell-shaped flowers on orange-yellow stems that twine about clover or flax.
Also called love vine.


Origin:
1225–75; ME doder; c. D, Dan dodder, MLG dod(d)er, MHG toter, G Dotter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dodder
dod·der 1   (dŏd'ər)   
intr.v.   dod·dered, dod·der·ing, dod·ders
  1. To shake or tremble, as from old age; totter.

  2. To progress in a feeble, unsteady manner.


[Alteration of Middle English daderen.]
dod'der·er n.
dod·der 2   (dŏd'ər)   
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, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dodder 
1617, from M.E. daderen "to quake, tremble" (1483), apparently frequentative of dialectal dade, on a form similar to totter, patter.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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