dodder

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
dodder1

▶verb be slow and unsteady.

– derivatives
dodderer noun,
doddering adjective,
doddery adjective.

– origin C17: var. of obs. dial. dadder; rel. to dither.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
dodder2

▶noun a parasitic climbing plant of the convolvulus family, with leafless stems that are attached to the host plant by means of suckers. [Genus Cuscuta.]

– origin ME: rel. to Mid. Low Ger. doder, dodder, Mid. High Ger. toter.