psellism-, psellismo- +

Stammering or a speech disorder involving three factors: (1) dysfluency with repetition of words and parts of words, prolongations of sounds, interjections of sounds or words, and long pauses; (2) listener reaction, considering the dysfluency to be abnormal or unacceptable; and (3) the speaker's reaction to the dysfluency and to the listener's reaction, with a self-conception as a stutterer.

An abnormal apprehension of stuttering: Toby had psellismophobia and, when he was in class at school, he was afraid of speaking up, fearing the humiliation and possible ridicule from his peers, but he could sing very well with the others with no problem at all!

Defective pronunciation, stuttering, or stammering.

Stammering, stuttering.

1. A speech disorder resulting rarely from chronic intoxication with inorganic mercury compounds.

Speech is affected with tremor of the tongue and lips and varies in severity from slurred or hesitant speech to unintelligibility.

2. Jerking, hurried, unintelligible speech present as part of the tremor that accompanies mercury poisoning.