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DictionaryRoot: wadan
Old English

wadan

go forward, stride

1 / 1
A duck waddles forward with a short step, its weight shifted onto one webbed foot and its rounded body tilted gently sideways; a few closely spaced alternating footprints make the short-stepped gait clear.
verb / noun

waddle

WAH-dul/wˈɑdʌl/

Walking with short steps while swaying from side to side.

Etymology
waddOld Englishgo forward, stride
+leEnglishsmall or repeated action

The root meant “go forward”; the suffix marks small or repeated actions. Together they describe a gait of short steps, especially the side-to-side walk of a duck.

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