waddle

From Middle English *wadlen, frequentative form of waden, equivalent to wade +‎ -le. Compare Old High German wadalōn (“to roam; wander”), Middle High German wadelen, wedelen (“to wander; rove”), German wedeln (“to waggle”). First known use in English in a version of the Song of Roland around the year 1400. (Source:OED online)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒd.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɑd.əl/, [ˈwɑɾ.ɫ̩]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒdəl
• Rhymes: -ædəl

waddle (plural waddles)

1. A squat, swaying gait.

   the waddle of a duck

waddle (third-person singular simple present waddles, present participle waddling, simple past and past participle waddled)

1. (intransitive) To walk with short steps, tilting the body from side to side.
2. (intransitive) To move slowly.
   • 2018 December 19, Drachinifel, 4:55 from the start, in SMS Nassau - Guide 007 (Human Voice)‎, archived from the original on 18 December 2022:

     Now, on the bright side, things weren't all bad; they had commendably-thick belt armor, which was 12 inches thickness, and they had a very large number of subdivided watertight compartments, which would make them very durable. Due to their being quite fat, they could also turn very quickly, even if they were waddling along by the end of the turn.

• Dewald, dawdle, dwaled, walded