falter
verbEtymology 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.
7 senses
1
To waver or be unsteady; to weaken or trail off.
- He found his legs falter.1672, Richard Wiseman, A Treatise of Wounds:
- Considering the results of the study, today John may be buoyed at the clear trend of increasing numbers of new “lishes” for each successive decade since the 1950s, and the fact that nothing in the data suggests this trend is likely to falter.2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide, page 18:
2
Ambitransitive To stammer; to utter with hesitation, or in a weak and trembling manner.
- And here he faltered forth his last farewell.1807, Lord Byron, Childish Recollections:
- With faltering speech and visage incomposed.1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
3
To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; said of the mind or of thought.
- Here indeed the power of distinctly conceiving of space and distance falters.1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC:
4
To stumble.
5
Figuratively To lose faith or vigor; to doubt or abandon (a cause).
- And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter.1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
- The most important foreign policy problem I faced was that of signaling to the world what kind of man I was and what sort of policies I intended to carry out. It was important that there be no hesitancy on my part — nothing to indicate that the U.S. government had faltered. It was equally important for the world to understand that I intended to continue the government's established foreign policies and maintain the alliances of Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy — policies of firmness on the one hand and an effort to thaw the Cold War on the other.1971, Lyndon Johnson, “"I feel like I have already been here a year"”, in The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 22:
6
To hesitate in purpose or action.
- Ere her native king / Shall falter under foul rebellion's arms.1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
7
To cleanse or sift, as barley.
- Barley[…]clean falter'd from Hairs1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC: