Teeter
/ˈtiːtər/noun
To move unsteadily back and forth or to be on the verge of falling or changing.
Did you know?“Teeter” is an old English sound-symbolic word, and its earliest forms were used for rocking or shaking motion long before it became the modern image of being dangerously close to collapse.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tei-
“to shake, tremble”
Old English
English
tǣtorian
“to tremble or quiver”
Middle English
English
teiteren
“to shake, wobble, or move unsteadily”
16th Century
English
teeter
“to sway or rock back and forth”
Modern English
English
teeter
“to move unsteadily or be on the verge of falling”