Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A low, indistinct, continuous sound.
  • noun An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter.
  • noun Medicine An abnormal sound, usually emanating from the heart, that sometimes indicates a diseased condition.
  • intransitive verb To make a low, continuous, indistinct sound or succession of sounds.
  • intransitive verb To complain in low mumbling tones; grumble.
  • intransitive verb To say in a low indistinct voice; utter indistinctly.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make a low continuous noise, like the sound of rushing water or of the wind among trees, or like the hum of bees.
  • To utter words indistinctly; mutter.
  • To grumble; complain; utter complaints in a low, muttering voice; hence, in general, to express complaint or discontent: with at or against.
  • Synonyms To repine, whimper.
  • To utter indistinctly; say in a low indistinct voice; mutter.
  • noun A low sound continued or continuously repeated, as that of a stream running in a stony channel, of a number of persons talking indistinctly in low tones, and the like; a low and confused or indistinct sound; a hum.
  • noun A muttered complaint or protest; the expression of dissatisfaction in a low muttering voice; hence, any expression of complaint or discontent.
  • noun In medicine, any one of various sounds, normal and pathological, heard in auscultation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To utter or give forth in low or indistinct words or sounds.
  • intransitive verb To make a low continued noise, like the hum of bees, a stream of water, distant waves, or the wind in a forest.
  • intransitive verb To utter complaints in a low, half-articulated voice; to feel or express dissatisfaction or discontent; to grumble; -- often with at or against.
  • noun A low, confused, and indistinct sound, like that of running water.
  • noun A complaint half suppressed, or uttered in a low, muttering voice.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable Low or indistinct sounds or speech.
  • noun medicine The sound made by any condition which produces noisy, or turbulent, flow of blood through the heart.
  • noun A muttered complaint or protest; the expression of dissatisfaction in a low muttering voice; any expression of complaint or discontent

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath
  • noun a schwa that is incidental to the pronunciation of a consonant
  • noun an abnormal sound of the heart; sometimes a sign of abnormal function of the heart valves
  • verb speak softly or indistinctly
  • noun a complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone
  • noun a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

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Examples

Comments

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  • Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.

    John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury PC, (1834–1913)

    March 30, 2007

  • A murmur ran through the court and before the bailiff could grab it, then it jumped up and bit judge Webster on the nose.

    September 15, 2007

  • So excellent in its own murmuriness.

    November 20, 2007

  • Also the first full-length record by R.E.M, released in 1983. It's a beautiful record.

    November 29, 2007

  • May 30, 2008