English

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Etymology

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From Middle English rumour, from Old French rumour, rumor, from Latin rūmor (common talk), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *rewH- (to shout, roar).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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rumour (countable and uncountable, plural rumours)

  1. British, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, [], →OCLC:
      Rumour had it (though not proved) that she descended from the house of the lords Talbot de Malahide
    • 1922, Michael Arlen, “1/1/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[1]:
      There were rumours, new rumours every morning, delightful and outrageous rumours, so that the lumps in the porridge were swallowed without comment and the fish-cakes were eaten without contumely.
    • 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, →OCLC, section I, page 18:
      Dame Rumour outstrides me yet again.
    • 1969, Peter Vansittart, Pastimes of a Red Summer: A Novel[2], Owen, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 140:
      I myself gave support to the summoning of the Estates General ... as merely mistaken . Similarly it might be held that Paradise originated in a rumour invented in hell to make society the more interesting . ' ' We need a saviour .
  2. (obsolete) A prolonged, indistinct noise.

Verb

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rumour (third-person singular simple present rumours, present participle rumouring, simple past and past participle rumoured)

  1. Commonwealth standard spelling of rumor.
    • 1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Drastic cuts in Scotland?”, in Trains Illustrated, page 644:
      Two of the four main routes over the Border were rumoured to be threatened with withdrawal of, or heavy cuts in, passenger services.