tidder
English edit
Etymology edit
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 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”).
Verb edit
tidder (third-person singular simple present tidders, present participle tiddering, simple past and past participle tiddered)
- (dialectal) To treat with tenderness; fondle
- 1916 July, Rose O'Neill, “The Kewpies and their Fairy Cousin”, in Good Housekeeping, volume 63, number 1, page 88:
- 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.
Synonyms edit
- coddle, cosset, dandle; see also Thesaurus:pamper