DOTAGE

dotage, second childhood, senility

(noun) mental infirmity as a consequence of old age; sometimes shown by foolish infatuations

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

dotage (countable and uncountable, plural dotages)

Decline in judgment and other cognitive functions, associated with aging; senility.

Fondness or attentiveness, especially to an excessive degree.

Foolish utterance(s); drivel.

Synonyms

• (loss of mental acuity associated with aging): second childhood

Anagrams

• dogate, goated, togaed

Source: Wiktionary


Do"tage, n. Etym: [From Dote, v. i.]

1. Feebleness or imbecility of understanding or mind, particularly in old age; the childishness of old age; senility; as, a venerable man, now in his dotage. Capable of distinguishing between the infancy and the dotage of Greek literature. Macaulay.

2. Foolish utterance; drivel. The sapless dotages of old Paris and Salamanca. Milton.

3. Excessive fondness; weak and foolish affection. The dotage of the nation on presbytery. Bp. Burnet.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 February 2025

ANALYSIS

(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ‘the father of the bride’ instead of ‘the bride’s father’


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In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.

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