from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Totter \Tot"ter\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Tottered}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Tottering}.] [Probably for older tolter; cf. AS.
tealtrian to totter, vacillate. Cf.{Tilt} to incline,
{Toddle}, {Tottle}, {Totty}.]
1. To shake so as to threaten a fall; to vacillate; to be
unsteady; to stagger; as, an old man totters with age. "As
a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence."
--Ps. lxii. 3.
[1913 Webster]
2. To shake; to reel; to lean; to waver.
[1913 Webster]
Troy nods from high, and totters to her fall.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]