waddle

Pronunciation: /ˈwɒd.əl/

The English word “waddle” has 4 meanings listed here.

noun

A squat, swaying gait.
A group of birds, such as ducks and penguins, when walking.

verb

To walk with short steps, tilting the body from side to side.
To move slowly.

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.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.