nunnations

Noun

nunnation (plural nunnations)

1. (dated) A stammering speech disorder, in which the /n/ sound is given to other consonants.
   • Not only in formal discourse, but in the ordinary walks of life, a well-modulated, expressive voice is a most valuable asset, whether one’s object be to interest, persuade or convince, to give a command or entreat a favor. The moulding of the voice into finished articulate speech is a mechanism in...1910, Walter A. Wells, “The hygienic, economic and sociologic aspect of the throat”, in The Laryngoscope, volume 20, number 1, →DOI, pages 47–48
2. (archaic, rare) An inclination of Germanic languages to employ -n in endings.
   • § 146. The two important exceptions to the rule
     that the Frisian agrees with the Westsaxon rather than
     with the Northumbrian are the two connected with its
     Phonesis; in respect to (1) its Nunnation and (2) its
     Sigmatismus. It has less of both than the Westsaxon;
     though the absence of neither is...1875, Robert Gordon Latham, Handbook of the English Language: For the Use of Students of the Universities and Higher Classes of Schools, 9th edition, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 202