stammer

 
Pronunciation: /ˈstamə/

verb

[no object]
  • speak with sudden involuntary pauses and a tendency to repeat the initial letters of words: he turned red and started stammering
  • [with object] utter (words) in such a way: I stammered out my history [with direct speech]: ‘I ... I can’t,’ Isabel stammered

noun

[in singular]
  • a tendency to stammer: as a young man, he had a dreadful stammer

Derivatives

stammerer

noun

stammering

noun & adjective

stammeringly

adverb

Origin:

late Old English stamerian, of West Germanic origin; related to stumble. The noun dates from the late 18th century