Dotage

Origin

From Middle English from doten to dote

Full definition of dotage

Noun

1. Decline in judgment and other cognitive functions, associated with aging; senility.
• 1841, Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, ch. 1,"More care!" said the old man. . . . There were in his face marks of deep and anxious thought which convinced me that he could not be, as I had been at first inclined to suppose, in a state of dotage or imbecility.
2. Fondness or attentiveness, especially to an excessive degree.
• 1598, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, act 2, sc. 3,CLAUDIO: And she is exceeding wise.DON PEDRO: In every thing but in loving Benedick. . . . I would she had bestowed this dotage on me.
3. foolish utterance; drivelThe sapless dotages of old Paris and Salamanca. — Milton.

Synonyms

• (loss of mental acuity associated with aging) second childhood

Anagrams

• goated
• togaed