tidder
verbEtymology From Middle English tidren, from Old English tīdrian, tȳdrian (“to become weak or infirm; be frail”), from Proto-Germanic *tūdrijaną (“to become brittle or weak; exhaust”), from Proto-Germanic *tūdrijaz (“brittle; weak; exhausted”), equivalent to Old English tid + -er. Related to Old English tiddre, tyddre, tēdre, tīdre, tȳdre (“weak; fragile”), West Frisian tear (“tender; gentle”), Dutch teder (“tender; fond; gentle; loving”), German Low German teder (“fine; delicate; sensitive; tender; weak”).
1
Dialectal To treat with tenderness; fondle
- Their doings now were jubilational— What quiet folks would call sensational. Their goodies they unpack excitedly, Their Common Grandsire greet delightedly, With gentle, sympathetic tiddering. When from his tree-top he called diddering, All "gramps," Wag said, are worth considering.1916 July, Rose O'Neill, “The Kewpies and their Fairy Cousin”, in Good Housekeeping, volume 63, number 1, page 88:
- Related terms
- tiddle