Murmour

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A low, indistinct, continuous sound such as voices heard from another room ; a quiet complaint or grumble voiced by someone dissatisfied ; an abnormal whooshing sound heard during a heartbeat ; to speak or say something in a soft, hushed tone
2. A faint, blurred sound of many voices or a steady hum ; a muttered expression of discontent or displeasure ; an irregular sound detected through a stethoscope when blood flows abnormally ; to utter words quietly, barely above a whisper
3. The soft, indistinct noise of a distant crowd or running water ; a grumbling protest made under one's breath ; a heart sound caused by turbulent blood flow through a valve ; to speak in a low, subdued voice that is hard to hear

Etymology: Ancient Latin had "murmurare," a verb for a low, steady rumble, and the word is imitative: its sound mimics the sound it describes. Old French took it up as "murmurer," and English borrowed the verb and noun from there. The sound-based origin explains why so many languages have similar words for a soft, continuous hum. "Murmour" is an older English spelling of the same word, with the "-our" ending that English writers often used for words borrowed from French and Latin, as in "honour." The spelling "murmur," with "-ur," is the one that eventually became standard, though both forms were in use for a long time. Over the centuries the word moved from describing a sound made by people or water to covering complaints spoken in an undertone, and later, in medicine, an abnormal sound heard in the heart.