waddle

See also: Waddle

English

WOTD – 29 January 2009

Etymology

From Middle English wadelen, frequentative form of waden, equivalent to wade +‎ -le. Compare Saterland Frisian wuttelje (“to waddle”), Old High German wadalōn (“to roam; wander”), Middle High German wadelen, wedelen (“to wander; rove”), German wedeln (“to waggle”). First known use in English in a version of the Song of Roland around the year 1400. (Source:OED online)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒd.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɑd.əl/, [ˈwɑɾ.ɫ̩]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ɒdəl
• Rhymes: -ædəl

Noun

waddle (plural waddles)

1. A squat, swaying gait.

   the waddle of a duck

Translations

swaying gait

• Bulgarian: патешко ходене n (pateško hodene)
• Finnish: vaapunta (fi)
• German: watschelnder Gang (de) m, Watscheln n
• Hungarian: totyogás
• Romanian: mers legănat n

Verb

waddle (third-person singular simple present waddles, present participle waddling, simple past and past participle waddled)

1. (intransitive) To walk with short steps, tilting the body from side to side.
   • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 217:

     The pond was another favourite place to visit. Moorhens strutted from the neighbouring bushes, and a bevy of Muscovy ducks, a study in black, white and red, waddled from the farmyard hard by to enjoy a refreshing splash.

2. (intransitive) To move slowly.
   • 2018 December 19, Drachinifel, 4:55 from the start, in SMS Nassau - Guide 007 (Human Voice)‎^[1], archived from the original on 18 December 2022:

     Now, on the bright side, things weren't all bad; they had commendably-thick belt armor, which was 12 inches thickness, and they had a very large number of subdivided watertight compartments, which would make them very durable. Due to their being quite fat, they could also turn very quickly, even if they were waddling along by the end of the turn.

Translations

to walk with short steps, tilting the body from side to side

• Bulgarian: клатя се като патица (klatja se kato patica)
• Czech: kolébat se
• Dutch: waggelen (nl)
• Esperanto: anaspaŝi
• Faroese: vappa
• Finnish: vaappua (fi)
• French: se dandiner (fr)
• Galician: tordear (gl)
• German: watscheln (de)
• Greek: πηγαίνω σαν πάπια (pigaíno san pápia), παραπατώ (el) (parapató)
• Hungarian: totyog (hu)
• Japanese: よたよた歩く (ja) (yotayota aruku), よちよち歩く (ja) (yochiyochi aruku)
• Maori: mānānana, parepare
• Romanian: merge legănat
• Russian: ходи́ть вразвалку (xodítʹ vrazvalku), перева́ливаться (ru) impf (pereválivatʹsja)
• Slovene: racati
• Spanish: tambalearse (es), dar traspiés (es), anadear (es)
• Turkish: badi badi/paytak paytak yürümek (tr)
• Ukrainian: ходити перевальцем (xodyty perevalʹcem)

Anagrams

• Dewald, dawdle, dwaled, walded