lisp

Meanings

Noun

• The habit or an act of lisping.

Verb

• To pronounce the consonant ‘s’ imperfectly; to give ‘s’ and ‘z’ the sounds of ‘th’ (). 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.

Origin

• From Middle English lispen, lipsen, wlispen, from Old English *wlispian (attested in āwlyspian), from Old English wlisp, wlips, from Proto-Germanic *wlispaz ("lisping"), from Proto-Indo-European *wlis-, *wleys-, from *wel-. Cognate with Middle Low German wlispen ("to lisp"), Dutch lispen ("to lisp"), German lispeln ("to lisp"), Danish læspe ("to lisp"), Swedish läspa ("to lisp").