dodder

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a leafless annual parasitic vine of the genus Cuscuta having whitish or yellow filamentous stems; obtain nourishment through haustoria
verb walk unsteadily

From Middle English daderen (“to quake, tremble”). Compare Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).

Wallace Bros: the bottleworks: Dodder bridge. — Ulysses, James Joyce
"It is a sort of dodder," added Sumichrast, "a plant of the Convolvulus family. — Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Lucien Biart
Ivy ne’er clasp’d A dodder’d oak, as round the other’s limbs The hideous monster intertwin’d his own. — The divine comedy, Dante Alighieri

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