loiter

Meanings

Verb

  • To stand about without any aim or purpose; to stand about idly.
  • To remain at a certain place instead of moving on.
  • For an aircraft to remain in the air near a target.

Noun

  • A standing or strolling about without any aim or purpose.

Origin

  • From Middle English loitren, from Middle Dutch loteren ("to shake, wag, wobble"), ultimately connected with a frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *lūtaną ("to bend, stoop, cower, shrink from, decline"), see lout. Cognate with Dutch leuteren ("to dawdle"), Alemannic German lottern ("to wobble"), German Lotterbube ("rascal"). More at lout, little.

Modern English dictionary

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