dote
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
The verb is derived from Middle English doten, from Middle Low German doten (“to be foolish”) or Middle Dutch doten (“to be silly”). Doublet of doit (Scottish English).
The noun in the sense of "imbecile" is derived from Middle English dote (“simpleton”), itself from doten (see above). The noun in the sense of "darling" and "decay" is derived from the modern verb.
Verb
dote (third-person singular simple present dotes, present participle doting, simple past and past participle doted)
- (intransitive, stative, usually with on) To be weakly or foolishly fond of somebody.
- 2010, Jennifer Egan, “A to B”, in A Visit from the Goon Squad:
- Jules doted on Chris, spending hours while Chris was at school assembling vast cities out of microscopic Lego pieces to surprise him when he returned.
- (intransitive, archaic) To act in a foolish manner; to be senile.
- 1692–1717, Robert South, “Ill-disposed Affections […] ”, in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
- He survived the use of his reason, grew infatuated, and doted long before he died.
- 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- Time has made you dote, and vainly tell / Of arms imagined in your lonely cell.
- (intransitive, of trees, rare or obsolete) To rot, decay.
Derived terms
Translations
to be foolishly fond of
|
to act in a foolish manner
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Noun
dote (countable and uncountable, plural dotes)
- (countable, Ireland) A darling, a cutie.
- 1922 February, James Joyce, “[13]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
- But to be sure baby was as good as gold, a perfect little dote in his new fancy bib.
- (countable, obsolete) An imbecile; a dotard.
- 1630, Tinker of Turvey:
- How did his death-bed make him a doate!
- (uncountable, rare) Decay in a tree.
Synonyms
- (dotard): dobby, mimmerkin; see also Thesaurus:dotard
Derived terms
Translations
darling, cutie
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Etymology 2
From Middle English dote (“endowment”) (c. 1450), from Middle French dote (modern dot), from Latin dos.
Noun
dote (plural dotes)
Etymology 3
From Middle French doter, Latin dōtāre.
Verb
dote (third-person singular simple present dotes, present participle doting, simple past and past participle doted)
- (obsolete, transitive) To endow, donate.
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
Verb
dote
- inflection of doter:
Italian
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
dote f (plural doti)
Related terms
Latin
Noun
dōte
References
- "dote", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
Middle English
Etymology 1
A back-formation from doten.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
dote
Descendants
- English: dote
References
- “dōte, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-08-12.
Etymology 2
Verb
dote
- Alternative form of doten
Old Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dōs, dōtem, from Proto-Italic *dōtis, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₃tis (“act of giving”).
Pronunciation
Noun
dote m or f
- dowry
- ca. 1480, Ordenanzas reales de Castilla. Huete, Álvaro de Castro, 1484. BNM I1338, fol. 243r. , (ed. by Ivy A. Corfis, 1995, Madison: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies):
- E sy fijos non ouiere que pierda todos sus bienes las dos partes para la nuestra camara & la otra terçia parte para acusador. E estos bienes que asy se perdieren se entiendan sacadas las debdas & sacado el dote & arras de su muger.
- And if he does not have issue (children), he shall lose all his possessions. Two thirds shall go to our chamber, and the third to the accuser [of blasphemy]. And by these possessions thus lost, his debts shall be considered solved, along with the dowry and downpayment of his wife.
- E sy fijos non ouiere que pierda todos sus bienes las dos partes para la nuestra camara & la otra terçia parte para acusador. E estos bienes que asy se perdieren se entiendan sacadas las debdas & sacado el dote & arras de su muger.
- 1491, Alfonso X, Siete Partidas (BNM I 766) , (ed. by Pedro Sánchez Prieto, 2004, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares):
- Ley sesta. como la dote o el arra que resçibe el padre por su fijo o por su fija no deue venir a partiçion entre los otros hermanos.
- Law 6. How the dowry or downpayment that a father receives for [the marriage of] his son or daughter shall not be split among the other siblings.
- Ley sesta. como la dote o el arra que resçibe el padre por su fijo o por su fija no deue venir a partiçion entre los otros hermanos.
Descendants
- Spanish: dote
Portuguese
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɔt͡ʃi, (Portugal) -ɔtɨ
Noun
dote m (plural dotes)
- foundation (legacy constituting a permanent fund of a charity)
- dowry (property or payment given at time of marriage)
- (figuratively, chiefly in the plural) talent
Related terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
dote
- inflection of dotar:
Further reading
- “dote”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
- “dote”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
Spanish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old Spanish dote (“dowry”, masculine or feminine noun), borrowed from Latin dōtem. Doublet of dosis.
Noun
dote f (plural dotes)
Related terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
dote
- inflection of dotar:
Further reading
- “dote”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
Tagalog
Etymology
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈdote/ [ˈd̪oː.t̪ɛ]
- Rhymes: -ote
- Syllabification: do‧te
Noun
dote (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜓᜆᜒ)
- dowry
- Synonyms: bigay-kaya, pasalap, ubad, (dialectal) bilang
Derived terms
- dotehan
- magdote
References
- “dote”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
Venetan
Noun
dote
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