Meanings
present singular third person mammers · participle present mammering · participle past mammered · past mammered
- rareTo hesitate.
Tell me, Othello: I wonder in my soul, What you would ask me, that I should deny, Or stand so mammering on — Shakespeare, Othello.
- rareTo mumble or stammer from doubt or hesitation.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*mer-
- Proto-Germanic*maimrōną“to take care, worry”
- Old Englishmāmrian
- Middle Englishmameren“to hesitate, be undecided, waver, mutter”
- Englishmammer
From Middle English mameren (“to hesitate, be undecided, waver, mutter”), from Old English māmrian, māmorian (“to think through, deliberate, plan out, design”), from Proto-Germanic *maimrōną (“to take care, worry”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *smer- (“to fall into thought, remember, take care”). Related to Old English māmor (“deep thought, deep sleep, unconsciousness”), Old English mimorian (“to remember”), Dutch mijmeren (“to ponder, muse”). More at remember.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech váhat, mumlat
- váhatTo hesitate
- mumlatTo mumble or stammer
Russian мямлить
- мямлить (mjamlitʹ)To mumble or stammer
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with mammer
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mammer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mammer
“mammer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mammer. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mammer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mammer.
Source: mammer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.