dotard
/ˈdəʊ.təd/
"dotard" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dotard” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An old person with impaired intellect; a senile person; one in their dotage.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dotard · dotard · English
dotard · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dotard |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdəʊ.təd/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dotard” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dotard is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈdəʊ.təd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
dotard has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dotard; equivalent to dote + -ard. The correct English form is dotard, spelled D-O-T-A-R-D.
Definition
- 1An old person with impaired intellect; a senile person; one in their dotage.
- 2One who dotes on another, showing excessive fondness; a doter.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dotard appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Dotard, (ſaide he) let be thy deepe aduiſe; Seemes that through many yeares thy wits thee faile, And that weake eld hath left thee nothing wiſe, Els neuer ſhould thy iudgement be ſo frayle, To meaſure manhood by the ſword or mayle.
I ſpeake not like a dotard, nor a foole, As vnder priuiledge of age to bragge, What I haue done being yong, or what would doe, Were I not old, […]
Etymology
From Middle English dotard; equivalent to dote + -ard.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.