Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
STAGGER
I. verb (staggered; staggering) see: stake
Date: 15th century
intransitive verb
1. to reel from side to side ; totter , to move on unsteadily , to waver in purpose or action ; hesitate , to rock violently , transitive verb to cause to doubt or hesitate ; perplex , to cause to reel or totter, to arrange in any of various zigzags, alternations, or overlappings of position or time , staggerer noun
II. noun
Date: 1577
an abnormal condition of domestic animals associated with damage to the central nervous system and marked by incoordination and a reeling unsteady gait, a reeling or unsteady gait or stance, an arrangement in which the leading edge of the upper wing of a biplane is advanced over that of the lower,
III. adjective
Date: 1918
marked by an alternating or overlapping pattern