Meaning

noun an excited state of agitation

verb act nervously; be undecided; be uncertain

verb make a fuss; be agitated

originVariant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”). Alternatively, perhaps with expressive voicing from *titeren, from Proto-Germanic *titrōną. If so, then a doublet of teeter and cognate with Old High German zittarōn (German zittern) and Old Norse titra…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0