Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Dotage
1.
Feebleness or imbecility of understanding or mind, particularly in old age; the childishness of old age; senility;
as, a venerable man, now in his
. dotage
Capable of distinguishing between the infancy and the
dotage
of Greek literature. Macaulay.
2.
Foolish utterance; drivel.
The sapless
dotages
of old Paris and Salamanca. Milton.
3.
Excessive fondness; weak and foolish affection.
The
dotage
of the nation on presbytery. Bp. Burnet.
Webster 1828 Edition
Dotage
DOTAGE
,Noun.
1.
Feebleness or imbecility of understanding or mind, particularly in old age, childishness of old age; as a venerable man now in his dotage.2.
A doting; excessive fondness.3.
Deliriousness. [See the verb, to dote.]Definition 2024
dotage
dotage
English
Noun
dotage (plural dotages)
- Decline in judgment and other cognitive functions, associated with aging; senility.
- 1841, Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, chapter 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.
- 1841, Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, chapter 1,
- Fondness or attentiveness, especially to an excessive degree.
- 1598, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, act 2, scene 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.
- 1598, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, act 2, scene 3,
- Foolish utterance(s); drivel.
- The sapless dotages of old Paris and Salamanca. — Milton.
Synonyms
- (loss of mental acuity associated with aging): second childhood
Translations
senility
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