stutter

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈstʌtə/ (UK); /ˈstʌtɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is a frequentative of dialectal stut,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Middle English stutten (“to stutter, stammer”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is related to Dutch stotteren (“to stutter”) and Middle High German stōzen (“to push, strike”),^[3][5][6] from Proto-Germanic *staut- (“to push, thrust”).^[3][4] Gothic stautan “to strike” is a cognate.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To speak with involuntary repetition of sounds or syllables (1566 in Merriam-Webster; 1570 in Barnhart and the OED).^[5][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Middle English stutten is attested about 1200 in the sense “to stop, come to a halt”, and the speaking sense may be an extension of it.^[4] The transitive use, to say with a stutter, is from about 1645,^[7] and figurative uses of halting motion from 1831.^[7][5] The noun is recorded from 1651 in Merriam-Webster and 1854 in the OED.^[5][7][3]

Timeline

• about 1395 – stutten “to stammer”.^[3]
• 1566–70 – stutter.^[5][3][7]
• about 1645 – to say with a stutter.^[7]
• 1651 – noun, an act of stuttering (Merriam-Webster; 1854 in the OED).^[5][7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To speak with involuntary interruptions, such as repeating or prolonging sounds; to stammer.
2. To say something with a stutter.
3. To move or act in a halting, jerky way.

Noun

1. The act or habit of stuttering.
2. A speech disorder marked by stuttering.

Word family

• stutterer
• stutteringly

Related words

• stammer
• contusion

Usage notes

Random House refers the verb to its synonym discussion at stammer.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press