An archaic or dialectal spelling of 'dote,' meaning to be excessively fond of someone or something, or to show signs of old age or senility.
Variant spelling of 'dote,' from Middle English 'doten,' possibly from Middle Dutch 'doten' (to be silly). The spelling 'doat' was common in earlier English periods but is now considered archaic.
The old spelling 'doat' shows that English spelling was wildly inconsistent until dictionaries standardized it in the 1800s—you can find 'doat' in Shakespeare and the King James Bible, making it a window into how fluid English spelling used to be!
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