totter

From Middle English totren, toteren, from earlier tolteren (compare dialectal English tolter (“to struggle, flounder”); Scots tolter (“unstable, wonky”)), from Old English tealtrian (“to totter, vacillate”), from Proto-Germanic taltrōną, a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic taltōną (“to sway, dangle, hesitate”), from Proto-Indo-European del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”). Cognate with Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), Norwegian dialectal totra (“to quiver, shake”), North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”). Related to tilt.