TITUBATION/tɪtjʊˈbeɪʃən/

A staggering or unsteadiness of walk or posture.

This word is mostly in medical use, to describe some abnormal way of walking or of holding oneself, usually as a symptom of a cerebral or spinal disease. It comes directly from the Latin verb titubare, which could mean “stutter” as well as “stumble”, and this former meaning occasionally surfaced in English, though it is long since obsolete. Outside medicine, titubation has been used facetiously to refer to unsteadiness brought on by too much of the demon drink.

World Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996–2008. All rights reserved. Contact the author if you want to reproduce this piece, but first see our advice page, which also has notes about linking. Your comments and corrections are welcome.