Definition of "dandle" [dan•dle]

• To move (a small child) up and down on the knees or in the arms in a playful way: "Somebody who was dandled on Queen Victoria's knee must appear an old fogy” ( Edward, Duke of Windsor). (verb-transitive)
• To pamper or pet. (verb-transitive)
• Narragansett Bay See seesaw. See Regional Note at teeter-totter. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And as I recline next to Lillian Hellman, I dandle Miss Kathie's adopted baby on my knee."
• "Society existed to dandle them and indulge their fantasies."
• "There was much happiness—Arthur now had a plump baby daughter, Mary, to dandle on his knee—and, thanks to Sherlock Holmes, the wherewithal to do a “proper” Christmas, with all the trimmings."