dotage
DOH-tij
/ˈdəʊ.tɪdʒ/
A state or period of senile decay or decline marked by foolish affection or mental weakness.
Often carries a subtle connotation of foolish fondness or childish simplicity in advanced old age.
The story behind the word. Dotage derives from the Middle English verb doten, borrowed from Middle Dutch doten ('to be silly or foolish'). In the 14th century, 'dotage' meant being foolish, but over time it specifically came to describe the mental decline of late old age, where an elder becomes foolishly affectionate or childish like a toddler.
Word relationships
- senility: Senility is a medical term for mental decline in old age, while dotage is a literary term often highlighting foolish affection or childishness.
- second childhood: Second childhood is an informal idiom for senile regression, whereas dotage is a classic literary noun.
- prime: One's prime represents the peak of physical and mental capabilities.
- youth: Youth is the period of early life full of vigor and growth.
Commonly confused with
- dote: Dote is a verb meaning to show excessive affection, whereas dotage is the noun state of senile decline or foolish affection.
Word family
- dote (verb): To show excessive love or foolish affection.
Collocations
- in one's dotage
- enter dotage
- senile dotage
- dull dotage
Idioms & expressions
- in his/her dotage
Example sentences
- "The king was now in his dotage, easily swayed by the flattering speeches of self-serving courtiers." Literary classic
- "In his dotage, the retired scholar spent his afternoons recounting the same childhood stories to anyone who would listen." Biography
Memory hook
Dote + age = the age when people dote foolishly because of senility. The age of foolish affection and senile decline.
When not to use
Do not use dotage to describe a sharp, active 80-year-old; it specifically implies cognitive decline or foolishness.
Fun facts
- Shakespeare famously described dotage in 'As You Like It' as part of the seventh age of man: 'second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.'
Related words
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