To hesitate or be indecisive about something; to waver between different choices or opinions.
From Middle English 'ditheren,' possibly from Old Norse 'didra' (to tremble) or related to 'dodder.' The word originally meant to shake or shiver, then evolved to mean wavering in decision.
In signal processing and image compression, 'dither' has a completely different meaning—it's the deliberate addition of tiny random noise to prevent visible banding artifacts, and it's essential to making digital images look smooth.
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