dotterel

Etymology

15th century. From dote (“to be foolish; senile”) + -rel (“pejorative suffix”). The bird is so named as it is easy to catch.

noun

1. A gullible fool, especially an elderly person with impaired faculties.
   This poor dotterel, Sir Arthur, is playing fast and loose with me. 1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, vol. V, letter 88
2. A small brown-and-black bird, Charadrius morinellus, of the plover family.
3. (Australia, New Zealand) Any of various small birds of Australasia thought to resemble the Eurasian dotterel.

adj

1. decayed
   some old dotterel trees c. 1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster