Marmouser

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To speak in a low, indistinct way, muttering words so that they are hard for others to make out
2. To murmur or mumble under one's breath in a way that obscures the words being said
3. Describing the act of talking quietly and unclearly, letting words run together so that listeners cannot follow

Etymology: The noun comes from the verb "marmouser," which French used for muttering or mumbling under one's breath. English borrowed the word for the sound itself: a low, blurred murmur of speech that you can hear but cannot make out. The French verb is probably imitative, built on the repeated consonants and vowels that a mumbling voice produces, and it sits in a family of French words for muttering and murmuring. Its exact internal history is uncertain, so the safest way to picture it is as a word whose sound matches its sense.