sputter

Meanings

1. Moist matter thrown out in small detached particles.
2. Confused and hasty speech.

1. To emit saliva or spit from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking.
2. To speak so rapidly as to emit saliva; to utter words hastily and indistinctly, with a spluttering sound, as in rage.
3. To throw out anything, as little jets of steam, with a noise like that made by one sputtering.
4. To cause surface atoms or electrons of a solid to be ejected by bombarding it with heavy atoms or ions.
5. To coat the surface of an object by sputtering.

Etymology

Probably representing Middle English *sputren, *sputrien, a frequentative form of Middle English sputen (“to spout, vomit”), equivalent to spout + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian spüttern (“to inject, spray, splash”), West Frisian sputterje (“to sputter”), Dutch sputteren (“to sputter”), Low German sputtern, spruttern (“to sprinkle”), German sprudeln (“to spout, squirt”). Compare splutter.