to tremble or rock as if about to fall
to become unstable; to threaten to collapse
He now saw all his long cherished hopes in danger of final destruction, and suddenly cast upon the brink of a precipice, where, while he struggled to protect them from falling, his eyes were dazzled by beholding them totter — Fanny Burney
to move unsteadily; to stagger
totterer noun
[Middle English toteren to swing, from early Dutch touteren]