uttering
Meaning
(present participle of utter) Saying something aloud; speaking or expressing something in words.
(present participle of utter) Making a sound with one's voice.
Structure
Usage
She was caught uttering a curse under her breath.
The witness was nervous about uttering the oath in court.
The bird kept uttering a strange, repetitive call.
Etymology
The verb 'utter' began its journey in Old English as 'ūtian', meaning "to put out" or "to expel," derived directly from the adverb 'ūt', meaning "out." This literal sense of sending something outward evolved semantically to specifically mean "to give out as a sound or speech," i.e., to speak or pronounce. The addition of the '-ing' suffix, a common Germanic participial ending, transforms the verb into its present participle or gerund form, 'uttering', which describes the ongoing action of speaking or producing vocal sounds. Thus, the modern word retains the core logic of its ancient root: the act of putting something (sound, words) forth into the open.
Analysis
'utter' originates from Middle English 'ut(t)ren', from Old English 'ūtian' (to put out, expel), from 'ūt' (out). The '-ing' suffix is from Old English '-ende', '-inge', used to form the present participle.