stutter English · revision 1203

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈstʌtə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈstʌtɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a frequentative of dialectal ''stut'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|enm|stutten|t=to stutter, stammer]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is related to [[nl|stotteren|t=to stutter]] and [[gmh|stōzen|t=to push, strike]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|gem-pro|*staut-|t=to push, thrust]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Gothic ''stautan'' “to strike” is a cognate.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To speak with involuntary repetition of sounds or syllables (1566 in Merriam-Webster; 1570 in Barnhart and the OED).^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline) The transitive use, to say with a stutter, is from about 1645,^(OED 1989) and figurative uses of halting motion from 1831.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) The noun is recorded from 1651 in Merriam-Webster and 1854 in the OED.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1395 – ''stutten'' “to stammer”.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1566–70 – ''stutter''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * about 1645 – to say with a stutter.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1651 – noun, an act of stuttering (Merriam-Webster; 1854 in the OED).^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To speak with involuntary interruptions, such as repeating or prolonging sounds; to [[stammer]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To say something with a stutter.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # To move or act in a halting, jerky way.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or habit of stuttering.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # A [[speech]] disorder marked by stuttering.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[stutterer]]

+ * [[stutteringly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stammer]]

+ * [[contusion]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House refers the verb to its synonym discussion at ''stammer''.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}