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dottle

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dottle¹

  • /ˈdɒtəl/ UK

Rhymes with -ɒtəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English dottel, dottelle (“a plug or tap of a vessel”), a diminutive of Old English dott (> English dot (“a point”)), equivalent to dot + -le. Related to Old English dyttan (“to stop up, clot”), Dutch dot (“a knot, lump, clod”), Low German Dutte (“a plug”). More at dit.

noun dottles · dottel

  1. A plug or tap of a vessel.
  2. A small rounded lump or mass.
  3. The still burning or wholly burnt tobacco plug in a pipe. 1892, Richard Oliver Heslop, Northumberland Words. English Dialect Society - Kegan Paul et al. In refilling a pipe, where twist is smoked, a common practice is to save the dottle and put it on the top of the new-filled pipe. "Aw like a baccy dottle to leet wiv."
  4. Geordie A baby's dummy, pacifier.

verb dottles · dottling · dottled · dottel

  1. To set pottery flatware horizontally on thimbles.

dottle²

  • /ˈdɒtəl/ UK

Rhymes with -ɒtəl

Where it comes from

Related to dote, dotard.

adjective more dottle · most dottle

  1. Scotland Stupid or senile. When days and years proclaim you’re old — A dottle, cripple, gouty fellow, Then for support you can lay hold O’ the upright of your umberella.

noun dottles

  1. Scotland A dotard.

    Similar: dodipole, dotel

Translations

Every language

noun still burning or wholly burnt tobacco plug in a pipe

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Cite this
MLA

"dottle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dottle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dottle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dottle

Chicago

"dottle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dottle.

BibTeX
@misc{dottle_2026,
  title = {dottle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dottle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}