murmur

      English

      Etymology

      From Middle English murmur, murmor, murmour, from Old French murmure (modern French murmure), from Latin murmur (“murmur, humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing etc.”).

      Pronunciation

      Noun

      murmur (plural murmurs)

      1. (countable) Low or indistinct sounds or speech.
        • 1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, chapter V:
          In the prison of the 'tween decks reigned a darkness pregnant with murmurs. The sentry at the entrance to the hatchway was supposed to "prevent the prisoners from making a noise," but he put a very liberal interpretation upon the clause, and so long as the prisoners refrained from shouting, yelling, and fighting--eccentricities in which they sometimes indulged--he did not disturb them.
        A murmur arose from the audience.
        • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XI:
          The moment had come for the honeyed word. I lowered my voice to a confidential murmur, but on her inquiring if I had laryngitis raised it again.
      2. (medicine) The sound made by any condition which produces noisy, or turbulent, flow of blood through the heart.
      3. A muttered complaint or protest; the expression of dissatisfaction in a low muttering voice; any expression of complaint or discontent
        • 1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress:
          In fear of disease and in the interest of his health man will be muzzled and masked like a vicious dog, and that without any murmur of complaint.
        • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XX:
          Glossop will return from his afternoon off to find the awful majesty of the Law waiting for him, complete with handcuffs. We can hardly expect him to accept an exemplary sentence without a murmur, so his first move will be to establish his innocence by revealing all.

      Translations

      low sounds or speech
      sound by turbulent flow of blood etc.
      muttered complaint or protest
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      Verb

      murmur (third-person singular simple present murmurs, present participle murmuring, simple past and past participle murmured)

      1. (intransitive, now rare) To grumble; to complain in a low, muttering voice, or express discontent at or against someone or something. [from 14th c.]
        • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, John VI:
          The iewes murmured att itt, because he sayde: I am thatt breed which is come doune from heven.
      2. (intransitive) To speak or make low, indistinguishable noise; to mumble, mutter. [from 14th c.]
        I couldn't hear the words; he just murmured a lot.
      3. (transitive) To say (something) indistinctly, to mutter. [from 15th c.]
        I...heard thee murmur tales of iron wars. (Shakespeare, 1 Hen. IV., II. 3.51)

      Derived terms

      Synonyms

      Translations

      to speak or make low, indistinguishable noise; to mumble

      External links

      References

      • murmur in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
      • “murmur” in OED Online, Oxford University Press, 1989.
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      Latin

      Etymology

      From Proto-Indo-European *mormur-, *mur- (“to mutter”). Reduplication points to imitative, onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Sanskrit मर्मर (marmara, “rustling sound, murmur”), Ancient Greek μορμύρω (mormúrō, “to roar, boil”), Lithuanian mùrmėti (“to mutter, murmur, babble”), Old High German murmurōn, murmulōn (“to mumble, murmur”), Old Norse murra (“to grumble, mumble”), Old Armenian մռմռամ (mṙmṙam).

      Noun

      murmur (genitive murmuris); n, third declension

      1. murmur, murmuring
      2. humming, roaring, growling, grumbling
      3. rushing, crashing

      Inflection

      Number Singular Plural
      nominative murmur murmurēs
      genitive murmuris murmurum
      dative murmurī murmuribus
      accusative murmurem murmurēs
      ablative murmure murmuribus
      vocative murmur murmurēs
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      Last modified on 15 June 2013, at 11:30