[1545–55; ‹ L blaterāre to prate, babble; use and spelling prob. altered by association with other expressiveverbs ending in -er6]This word is first recorded in the period 1545–55. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: articulate, caste, footprint, integral, inversion-er is a formal element appearing in verbs having frequentative meaning. Other wordsthat use the affix -er include: flicker, flutter, shiver, shudder