A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1460, 1635, 1693
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Totter, Tolter, v. [ME and e.m.E. toter (c1200), totter (1522), tolter (1529), tottre (1552). Cf. Norw. dial. tutra, totra and MDu. touteren.] a. intr. To waver, oscillate. b. tr. To cause to shake to and fro, to rock. —a. c1460 Thewis Wysmen 426.
Thai can nocht wone quhen thai ar veill, Bot tolterand [EETS tolter and], turnand as a quheill —b. 1635 Dumfr. & Galloway Soc. 3 Ser. XXI 122.
Nicolas … perceaved her tottering the cop in her hand as if she had the perrillis 1693 Urquhart Rabelais iii Prol. 7.
He … totter'd it, lifted it, … transpos'd it, transplaced it
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"Totter v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 3 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/totter_v>
