hesitate

Etymology

From Latin haesitatus, past participle of haesitare, intensive of haerere (“to hesitate, stick fast; to hang or hold fast”). Displaced native Old English wandian.

verb

1. (intransitive) To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination.
   He hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often hesitate in forming a judgment.
   September 1, 1742, Alexander Pope, letter to Racine I shall not hesitate to declare myself very cordially, in regard to some particulars about which you have desired an answer.
2. (intransitive) To stammer; to falter in speaking.
3. (transitive, poetic, rare) To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner.
   Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike. a. 1724, Alexander Pope, The Ms. at Longleat