Pottering

[pot-er] /ˈpɒt ər/

verb (used without object), noun, Chiefly British.
1.
1 .
/ˈpɒtə/
noun
1.
a person who makes pottery
/ˈpɒtə/
verb
1.
(intransitive; often foll by about or around) to busy oneself in a desultory though agreeable manner
2.
(intransitive; often foll by along or about) to move with little energy or direction: to potter about town
3.
(transitive) usually foll by away. to waste (time): to potter the day away
noun
4.
the act of pottering
/ˈpɒtə/
noun
1.
(Helen) Beatrix. 1866–1943, British author and illustrator of children’s animal stories, such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
2.
Dennis (Christopher George). 1935–94, British dramatist. His TV plays include Pennies from Heaven (1978), The Singing Detective (1986), and Blackeyes (1989)
3.
Paulus. 1625–54, Dutch painter, esp of animals
4.
Stephen. 1900–70, British humorist and critic. Among his best-known works are Gamesmanship (1947) and One-Upmanship (1952), on the art of achieving superiority over others
n.

“maker of pots” (they also sometimes doubled as bell-founders), late Old English pottere “potter,” reinforced by Old French potier “potter,” agent noun from root of pot (n.1). As a surname from late 12c. Potter’s field (1520s) is Biblical, a ground where clay suitable for pottery was dug, later purchased by high priests of Jerusalem as a burying ground for strangers, criminals, and the poor (Matt. xxvii:7). An older Old English word for “potter” was crocwyrhta “crock-wright.”
v.

“occupy oneself in a trifling way,” 1740, earlier “to poke again and again” (1520s), frequentative of obsolete verb poten “to push, poke,” from Old English potian “to push” (see put (v.)). Sense of “occupy oneself in a trifling way” is first recorded 1740. Related: Pottered; pottering.