Link Centre Dictionary

waddle

UK/ˈwɒd.əl/ US/ˈwɑd.əl/ rare
noun (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

walking with a waddling gait; walking with short steps and the weight shifting from one foot to the other

verb

1.

walk unsteadily

  • “small children toddle”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English wadelen, frequentative form of waden, equivalent to wade + -le. Compare Saterland Frisian wuttelje (“to waddle”), Old High German wadalōn (“to roam; wander”), Middle High German wadelen, wedelen (“to wander; rove”), German wedeln (“to waggle”). First known use in English in a version of the Song of Roland around the year 1400.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.