falter

Meanings

1. An unsteadiness.

1. To waver or be unsteady; to weaken or trail off.
2. To stammer; to utter with hesitation, or in a weak and trembling manner.
3. To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; said of the mind or of thought.
4. To stumble.
5. To lose faith or vigor; to doubt or abandon (a cause).
6. To hesitate in purpose or action.
7. To cleanse or sift, as barley.

Etymology

From Middle English falteren (“to stagger; be unsteady, tremble, quiver; to stammer; be entangled, get caught”), further origin unknown. Probably from a North Germanic source such as Old Norse faltrask (“to hesitate, be puzzled, be encumbered”). May also be a frequentative of fold, although the change from d to t is unusual.