Etymologically
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toddler

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:07. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈtɒdlə/[1]
  • US: /ˈtɑdlɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English toddle + -er.[2][3][4] The verb, first recorded in 1513 (Etymonline: c. 1600, in Scottish and northern English), is of uncertain origin.[2][3] The OED takes it as a first element expressing unsteady motion with the suffix -le, and compares Middle Low German toddeln (“(of grain) to dribble”);[2] Etymonline suggests it is related to or a variant of totter, influenced by waddle.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who toddles, in various senses: 1793, in David Ure's History of Rutherglen; this general sense was obsolete by the 1870s.[2][3] In canting slang of about 1790, town toddlers were simple fellows easily cheated by sharpers.[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense "young child" is recorded from 1837, and the word now means specifically a child learning to walk.[2] Collins puts the age at roughly one to two and a half years.[6] The pet form toddlekins dates from 1839,[3] and toddlerhood from the mid 20th century.[3][4]

Timeline

  • 1793 – one who toddles.[2][3]
  • 1837 – a young child.[2]
  • 1839 – toddlekins.[3]
  • mid 20th century – toddlerhood.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A young child who is learning to walk, usually between about one and two and a half years old.
  2. (as modifier) Made for such a child: toddler shoes.

Word family

  • toddlerhood
  • toddle
  • totter
  • waddle

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins