totter
totter Lexical Profile
totter Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To move or walk in a feeble, unsteady, or wavering manner, as if about to fall.
"The newborn foal tottered across the straw on its spindly legs."
To shake, sway, or become unstable as if on the verge of collapsing or failing (of a structure, system, or organization).
"The ancient stone tower tottered during the tremor, while the fragile coalition government tottered on the brink of collapse."
• noun
An unsteady, swaying, or staggering gait or movement.
"The toddler crossed the living room with an adorable little totter."
British A person who goes around the streets collecting and selling rags, scrap metal, and discarded items; a rag-and-bone collector.
"In Victorian London, a totter could often be seen pushing a handcart through the narrow alleys in search of salvageable scrap."
• Rhymes for totter
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English toteren ('to swing, sway, or hesitate'), probably of Scandinavian or Low German origin (compare Middle Dutch touteren, 'to swing'), related to Old English tealtrian ('to waver or be unsteady').