lisp
Pronunciation: /lɪsp/
The English word “lisp” has 6 meanings listed here.
noun
verb
- To pronounce the consonant ‘s’ imperfectly; to give ‘s’ and ‘z’ the sounds of ‘th’ (/θ/, /ð/). This is a speech impediment common among children.
- To speak with imperfect articulation; to mispronounce, such as a child learning to talk.
- To speak hesitatingly and with a low voice, as if afraid.
- to express by the use of simple, childlike language.
- To speak with reserve or concealment; to utter timidly or confidentially.
Etymology
From Middle English lispen, lipsen, wlispen, from Old English *wlispian (attested in āwlyspian (“to lisp”)), from Old English wlisp, wlips (“stammering, lisping”, adjective), from Proto-Germanic *wlispaz (“lisping”), from Proto-Indo-European *wlis-, *wleys- (“rod”), from *wel- (“to turn, roll”). Cognate with Middle Low German wlispen (“to lisp”), Dutch lispen (“to lisp”), German lispeln (“to…
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.