toddler English · revision 39408

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1793, D. Ure, History of Rutherglen}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈtɒdlə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈtɑdlɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|toddle|-er]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) The verb, first recorded in 1513 (Etymonline: c. 1600, in Scottish and northern English), is of uncertain origin.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The OED takes it as a first element expressing unsteady motion with the suffix [[m|en|-le]], and compares [[gml|toddeln|t=(of grain) to dribble]];^(OED 2026) Etymonline suggests it is related to or a variant of [[totter]], influenced by [[waddle]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In canting slang of about 1790, ''town toddlers'' were simple fellows easily cheated by sharpers.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense "young child" is recorded from 1837, and the word now means specifically a child learning to walk.^(OED 2026) Collins puts the age at roughly one to two and a half years.^(Collins 2023) The pet form ''toddlekins'' dates from 1839,^(Etymonline) and ''toddlerhood'' from the mid 20th century.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1793 – one who toddles.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – a young child.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1839 – ''toddlekins''.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid 20th century – ''toddlerhood''.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A young child who is learning to walk, usually between about one and two and a half years old.^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(as modifier)'' Made for such a child: ''toddler shoes''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[toddlerhood]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[toddle]]

+ * [[totter]]

+ * [[waddle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}