waddle
/ˈwɑd.əl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "the waddle of a duck"
- "Mr. Lillis imported a waddle of penguins who lined up at the clubhouse gate in their snappy thermal attire and were the first clients admitted."
- "You can see the dolphin show, the miracles of Stellar's sea lions and the cute waddle of penguins under the glittering illumination of the indoor swimming pool."
- "A waddle of ducks and ducklings appeared around her feet."
- "The pond was another favourite place to visit. Moorhens strutted from the neighbouring bushes, and a bevy of Muscovy ducks, a study in black, white and red, waddled from the farmyard hard by to enjoy a refreshing splash."
- "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."
Etymology
From Middle English wadelen, frequentative form of waden, equivalent to wade + -le. Compare Saterland Frisian wuttelje (“to waddle”), 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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɑd.əl/
- British English: /ˈwɒd.əl/