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bègue. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
bègue, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
bègue in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
bègue you have here. The definition of the word
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French
Etymology
Most likely from Old French beguer, from Middle Dutch beggen (“to chat”) (related to beggaert (“one who rattles off prayers”)). This word itself is of uncertain origin, but could possibly be related to spreken (“to speak, tell”), lacking the initial s and r due to some substrate influence.
Rejected or unlikely sources of the Middle Dutch word include beige (“wool color”), but the phonetics don’t fit, and French always had /g/ pronunciation instead of /d͡ʒ/ as in Dutch; Medieval Latin Albigenses (“heretic”), but no real phonological or semantic match; and finally the proper name Begga, borne by several pious women, now abandoned as a mere guess.
Pronunciation
Adjective
bègue (plural bègues)
- stuttering, stammering
Noun
bègue m or f by sense (plural bègues)
- stutterer, stammerer
References
Further reading