Murmur

Murmur

Noun / Verb · /ˈmɜː.mə/

Definition

(Noun) a low, continuous, indistinct sound; a softly spoken utterance; (Medicine) an abnormal sound heard through a stethoscope, particularly the sound of turbulent blood flow through a faulty heart valve; (Verb) to speak in a low, soft voice; to make a low continuous sound; to express quietly.

Origin

From Latin murmur (a murmuring, rumbling, humming sound) — an onomatopoeic word directly imitating the sound it names. The Latin murmur being one of the clearest examples of ancient onomatopoeia in the classical languages, with cognates in Sanskrit (murmura: crackling), Greek (mormyrein: to roar), and other Indo-European languages — suggesting this sound-word is extremely ancient. The word maintaining its onomatopoeic quality directly from Latin to English, used for everything from whispered conversation to the sound of streams to the cardiologist's diagnostic tool.