stammer

See also: Stammer and stämmer

English

Etymology

From Middle English stameren, from Old English stamerian, from Proto-West Germanic *stamrōn, from Proto-Germanic *stamrōną (“to stammer”). Compare German stammeln, Dutch stameren, Old Norse stammr. Doublet of stumble.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈstæmə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈstæmɚ/
• Rhymes: -æmə(ɹ)

Verb

stammer (third-person singular simple present stammers, present participle stammering, simple past and past participle stammered)

1. (intransitive) To keep repeating a particular sound involuntarily during speech.

   Synonyms: (chiefly Britain, dialectal, archaic) hacker, stutter

2. (transitive) To utter with a stammer, or with timid hesitancy.

   He blushed, and stammered a few words of apology.

   • 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi:

     The high school had a send-off in my honour. It was an uncommon thing for a young man of Rajkot to go to England. I had written out a few words of thanks. But I could scarcely stammer them out. I remember how my head reeled and how my whole frame shook as I stood up to read them.

Translations

to stutter

• Albanian: belbëzoj (sq)
• Arabic: تَلَجْلَجَ (talajlaja), تَلَعْثَمَ (talaʕṯama)

  Egyptian Arabic: لدغ (ladaḡ)

• Armenian: կակազել (hy) (kakazel), թլվատել (hy) (tʻlvatel)
• Asturian: tartayar, tatexar, atartayar
• Azerbaijani: kəkələmək (az), pəltəkləmək
• Belarusian: заіка́цца impf (zaikácca)
• Bulgarian: заеквам (bg) impf (zaekvam)
• Burmese: ဆွံ့ (my) (hcwam.)
• Catalan: quequejar (ca), tartamudejar (ca), titubar (ca), titubejar (ca)
• Cebuano: kanga
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 口吃 (zh) (kǒuchī), 結巴／结巴 (zh) (jiēbā), 磕巴 (zh) (kēbā), 漏口 (zh) (lòukǒu), 吶吶／呐呐 (zh) (nànà), 吞吐 (zh) (tūntǔ)

• Crimean Tatar: tutuqlanmaq
• Czech: koktat (cs) impf, zajíkat se impf
• Danish: stamme (da)
• Dutch: stotteren (nl), hakkelen (nl)
• Elfdalian: stotå
• Esperanto: balbuti
• Estonian: kogelema
• Faroese: stama
• Finnish: änkyttää (fi), takellella (fi)
• French: balbutier (fr), bégayer (fr)
• Galician: tatexar (gl)
• Georgian: ბლუ (blu)
• German: stammeln (de), stottern (de)
• Greek: τραυλίζω (el) (travlízo)

  Ancient: βατταλογέω (battalogéō)

• Greenlandic: ittoqerpoq
• Hebrew: גמגם (he) (gimgém)
• Higaonon: tagkangakanga
• Hindi: हकलाना (hi) (haklānā), लड़खड़ाना (hi) (laṛakhṛānā), हँकलाना (hi) (hãklānā), हिकलाना (hi) (hiklānā)
• Hungarian: dadog (hu), hebeg (hu)
• Icelandic: stama
• Ido: balbutar (io)
• Irish: beith ag stadaireacht
• Italian: balbettare (it), tartagliare (it)
• Japanese: 吃る (ja) (どもる, domoru)
• Kabuverdianu: gagixa
• Kazakh: кекештенуl (kekeştenul), тұтығу (tūtyğu)
• Khmer: ជាប់អណ្ដាត (coap ɑndaat), និយាយជាប់អណ្ដាត (ni’yiey coap ɑndaat)
• Korean: 더듬다 (ko) (deodeumda), 말을 더듬다 (mareul deodeumda)
• Kyrgyz: кекечтенүү (kekectenüü)
• Ladin: chechenië, cuchenië, cocogné
• Lao: ພ່ຳ (pham), ປາກພ່ຳ (pāk pham), ປາກບໍ່ຖອງ (pāk bǭ thǭng)
• Latin: balbutiō, friguttiō
• Latvian: stostīties
• Lithuanian: mikčioti
• Luxembourgish: tuddelen
• Macedonian: пелтечи impf (pelteči), д’тка impf (d’tka) (non-standard)
• Maori: mamamama, kikikiki, kīkiki
• Mingrelian: ბურდინა (burdina)
• Mongolian: ээрэх (mn) (eerex)
• Neapolitan: cacaglià
• Norman: aheuqu'ter, bégaûder
• Northern Sami: vavdat, vavddadit
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: stamme (no)

  Nynorsk: stamma

• Osage: ðéeze opásike
• Polish: jąkać się (pl) impf
• Portuguese: gaguejar (pt)
• Quechua: aklluykachay, aklluy, hanllay
• Romanian: bâlbâi (ro)
• Romansch: balbegiar
• Russian: заика́ться (ru) impf (zaikátʹsja), запина́ться (ru) impf (zapinátʹsja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: муцати impf

  Roman: mucati (sh) impf

• Slovak: koktať impf, zajakať sa
• Slovene: jecljati impf
• Sorbian:

  Upper Sorbian: jakotać

• Spanish: tartamudear (es), balbucir (es), balbucear (es), gaguear (es) (Latin America)
• Sranan Tongo: gagu
• Swahili: gugumiza
• Swedish: stamma (sv)
• Tajik: сақав шуда мондан (saqav šuda mondan), лакнати забон доштан (laknati zabon doštan)
• Thai: ติดอ่าง (th) (dtìt-àang), อ่าง (th) (àang)
• Turkish: kekelemek (tr), pepelemek (tr)
• Turkmen: sakynmak, sakawlamak, kekeçlemek
• Ukrainian: заїка́тися impf (zajikátysja), затина́тися impf (zatynátysja)
• Uzbek: duduqlanmoq (uz)
• Vietnamese: nói lắp (vi), vấp lưỡi, cà lăm (vi)
• Welsh: cecian (cy), dydio
• West Frisian: stammerje
• Yiddish: שטאַמלען (shtamlen)
• Zazaki: kekezeyen

Noun

stammer (plural stammers)

1. The involuntary repetition of a sound in speech.

   She said goodbye in a stammer.

2. A speech defect whereby someone speaks with a stammer

Translations

involuntary repetition of sounds in speech — see also stuttering,‎ stammering,‎ stutter

• Albanian: belbëzim (sq)
• Bulgarian: заекване n (zaekvane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 口吃 (zh) (kǒuchī)

• Finnish: änkytys (fi), takeltelu
• French: bégaiement (fr) m
• German: Stottern (de) n
• Greek: τραύλισμα (el) n (trávlisma), τραυλισμός (el) m (travlismós)
• Hebrew: גמגום (he) (gimgum)
• Hindi: हकलाहट (hi) f (haklāhaṭ), हकलापन (hi) m (haklāpan)
• Irish: maolteanga f, stad (ga) m, snag m
• Italian: balbettio
• Japanese: 吃り (どもり, domori)
• Kabuverdianu: gagixa
• Korean: 더듬기 (deodeumgi)
• Polish: jąkanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: gaguejo (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਥਥਲਾਉਣਾ (pa) (thathlāuṇā)
• Romanian: Balbism
• Russian: заика́ние (ru) n (zaikánije)
• Sanskrit: कण्ठभङ्ग (sa) m (kaṇṭhabhaṅga)
• Slovak: koktanie n
• Slovene: jecljanje n
• Spanish: tartamudeo (es) m
• Swahili: kigugumizi (sw)
• Swedish: stamning c
• Telugu: నత్తి (te) (natti)
• Turkish: kekeleme (tr)
• Ukrainian: заїкання n (zajikannja)
• Welsh: atal dweud (cy) m

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “stammer”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• stremma

Danish

Noun

stammer c

1. indefinite plural of stamme

Verb

stammer

1. present of stamme

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

stammer m

1. indefinite plural of stamme

Verb

stammer

1. present tense of stamme

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• stammar

Noun

stammer m or f

1. indefinite feminine plural of stamme