An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/stammeln

by Friedrich Kluge

stammeln, vb., ‘to stammer, stutter,’ from the equiv. MidHG. stammeln, stamelen, OHG. stammalôn, stamalôn. A derivative of OHG. stammal, stamal, ‘stammering,’ on whose earlier variant stammêr, stam-êr (nom. sing. masc.), is based OHG. stammên, stamên, ‘to stammer.’ Comp. the Goth. adj. stamms, OIc. stamr, ‘stammering,’ and also stumm. The prop. LG. stammern agrees with Du. stameren, E. to stammer (comp. AS. stamor, ‘stammering’). For the root stam, ‘to check’ (stammeln, ‘to falter frequently’), see ungestüm and stemmen.