murmur

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This must be the private sanctum of the spider; this murmur might be the spider's enchantment over the fly.

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Definitions (44)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun A low, indistinct, continuous sound: spoke in a murmur; the murmur of the waves.
  2. noun An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter.
  3. noun Medicine An abnormal sound, usually emanating from the heart, that sometimes indicates a diseased condition.

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • The distant thoroughfares have long ago ceased their murmur, and I know that a million lamps shine idly in the idle streets My sister sleeps quietly in the little bed. —  The Promised Land
  • To this she submitted without a murmur, and then Lady Ball came into the room They were both very nervous in watching her first behaviour, but were not at all prepared for the line of conduct which she adopted. —  Miss Mackenzie
  • I stoop'd, and thus amidst his sobs I heard him murmur--"Ah I haven't got no supper! —  The Book of Humorous Verse
  • A deep metallic sound went through all the courts, reverberated from the thick walls of the temple, and flew over the wheat-fields, above the mud cottages of earth-tillers, over the silvery waters of the Nile, where the faint cry of wakened birds answered it After a long time a murmur was heard inside, and the question Who rouses us Ramses, a slave of the divinity," said the penitent For what hast Thou come For the light of wisdom What right hast Thou to ask for it I received the inferior consecration, and in great processions within the temple I carry a torch The gates opened widely. —  The Pharaoh and the Priest An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt
  • Without raising his voice above a honeyed murmur, and with nothing particular to say, by sheer force of cherubic, Andaluz charm of manner he fascinated the Duchess of Carmona, and even Lady Vale-Avon, to whom he was a new type. —  The Car of Destiny
 

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

whisper ·  hum ·  rumble ·  roar ·  sigh ·  howl ·  ripple ·  grunt ·  rustle ·  stir ·  undertone ·  laugh

Used in the same contextWord Family

murmur:   murmured ·  murmuring ·  murmurs
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English murmure, from Old French, from Latin murmur, a humming, roaring, of imitative origin.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English murmur, from Old French murmure, French murmure = Provencal murmur, murmuri = Portuguese murmur = Italian mormure; cf. Spanish Portuguese murmurio, mormoreo = Italian mormorio, from Latin murmur, a murmur, humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing, etc., an imitative word (cf. Hindustani murmur, a crackling, crunching), a reduplication of the syllable *mur, cf. Latin mu, Greek μῦ, a sound made with closed lips, English mum, etc. Cf. murmur, v.
  2. from Middle English murmuren, from Old French (and F.) murmurer = Spanish murmurar, mormurar = Portuguese murmurar = Italian mormorare, murmurare = Old High German murmurōn, murmulōn, Middle High German G. murmeln, from Latin murmurare, murmur, mutter, = Greek μορμύρειν, later μυρμύρειν, roar as the ocean or rushing water: see murmur, n. Cf. Middle Latin murrare, Dutch morren = Middle High German G. murren = Icelandic murra = Swedish morra = Danish murre, murmur.
 

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/ˈmərmər/
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