dawdle

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) Chiefly followed by away: to spend (time) without haste or purpose.
2. (intransitive) To spend time idly and unfruitfully; to waste time.
3. (intransitive) To move or walk lackadaisically.

Noun

1. An act of spending time idly and unfruitfully; a dawdling.
2. An act of moving or walking lackadaisically, a dawdling; a leisurely or slow walk or other journey.
3. Synonym of dawdler (“a person who dawdles or idles”).

Noun

Alternative spelling of doddle (“a job, task, or other activity that is easy to complete or simple”).

Synonyms

loiter

linger

dally

idle

procrastinate

loaf

delay

tarry

lag

waste time

potter about

laze

slow

lounge

hang out

dilly-dally

be slow

fall behind

take a long time

creep

putter

stroll

fall back

saunter

diddle

fool around

stall

take one’s time

temporize

lollop

tootle

vacillate

wait

walk

🚶

wander

whet

worm

🪱

do carelessly

lallygag

fiddle away

idle one’s time away

wander about

lounge around

dilly dally

act up

diily-dally

amble

bootlick

bum

buy time

Translations

trödeln

bighellonare

oyalanmak

perder el tiempo

gingillarsi

lambiner

tembellik

roncear

aylaklık

flâner

nölen

χασομερώ

boşa geçirmek

seine Zeit vertrödeln

schlendern

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdɔːdl̩/

Etymology

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: döädelje

Cognate with German: daddeln

Cognate with German: verdaddeln

In summary

The verb is possibly:
* a variant of daddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk or work slowly, dawdle, saunter, trifle”) or doddle (“(Britain, dialectal) to walk feebly or slowly, dawdle, idle, saunter, stroll”), possibly influenced by daw (“(Britain, dialectal) lazy, good-for-nothing person, sluggard”); or
* borrowed from Middle Low German dȫdelen (“to dawdle”), related to Saterland Frisian döädelje (“to dawdle”); compare also German daddeln (“to play”), German verdaddeln (“to waste (time), neglect, ruin”). All of these words are assumed to be of imitative origin.
The noun is derived from the verb.