In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
TOTTER
teeter, seesaw, totter
(verb) move unsteadily, with a rocking motion
toddle, coggle, totter, dodder, paddle, waddle
(verb) walk unsteadily; “small children toddle”
totter
(verb) move without being stable, as if threatening to fall; “The drunk man tottered over to our table”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
totter (third-person singular simple present totters, present participle tottering, simple past and past participle tottered) (intransitive)
To walk, move or stand unsteadily or falteringly; threatening to fall.
(figurative) To be on the brink of collapse.
(archaic) To collect junk or scrap.
Synonyms
• (move unsteadily): reel, teeter, toddle, stagger, sway
Noun
totter (plural totters)
An unsteady movement or gait.
(archaic) A rag and bone man.
Source: Wiktionary
Tot"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tottered; p. pr. & vb. n. Tottering.] Etym: [Probably for older tolter; cf. AS. tealtrian to totter, vacillate. Cf.Tilt to incline, Toddle, Tottle, Totty.]
1. To shake so as to threaten a fall; to vacillate; to be unsteady; to stagger; as,an old man totters with age. "As a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence." Ps. lxii. 3.
2. To shake; to reel; to lean; to waver. Troy nods from high, and totters to her fall. Dryden.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
13 April 2025
TIME
(noun) an instance or single occasion for some event; “this time he succeeded”; “he called four times”; “he could do ten at a clip”
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