striddle

English

Etymology

Frequentative of Middle English striden (whence modern English stride), from Old English strīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *strīdan, from Proto-Germanic *strīdaną. Equivalent to stride +‎ -le (frequentative suffix).

Verb

striddle (third-person singular simple present striddles, present participle striddling, simple past and past participle striddled)

1. (dialectal, Scotland, Northern England) To straddle. [from mid-15th c.]
   • 1890, George Manville Fenn, Cormorant Crag:

     I'm going along like a lame duck striddling a gutter.

Anagrams

• tiddlers