lisp

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a speech pattern or disorder in which sibilant sounds such as s and z are articulated atypically

   Speech therapy helped the child manage her lisp without making her self-conscious.

2. 2
   verb

   to speak with a lisp or in a softly indistinct, childlike manner

   He continued to lisp certain words even after months of practice.

From Middle English lispen, with related forms in Old English and other Germanic languages, including Dutch lispen and German lispeln. The word has long imitated or named the characteristic sound pattern it describes.

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