Where does “dote” come from?
Dote comes from Middle English doten, from Middle Low German doten, of uncertain ultimate origin.
dote (English): To be weakly or foolishly fond of somebody; To...
Definitions
- To be weakly or foolishly fond of somebody; To...
Ancestry of “dote”, step by step
dote traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French doter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | doter | — |
| 2 | Latin | doto | I endow |
| 3 | Latin | dōs | dowry |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | dōtis | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | déh₃tis | giving |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
via Middle English dote
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | dote | An idiot or imbecile; a dotard; A senile... |
| 2 | Middle English | doten | To be or become or foolish, deranged or insane;... |
| 3 | Middle Low German | doten | to be foolish |
Words derived from “dote”