Murmurers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to individuals who express discontent or grievances quietly and in a low voice
2. A group characterized by the act of whispering or speaking softly about issues, often implying a sense of secrecy or disapproval
3. Describing those who engage in hushed, discontented conversation, typically about subjects of concern or dissatisfaction

Etymology: The word is the plural of "murmurer", which is simply "murmur" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, meaning one who murmurs. The noun "murmur" itself came into English from Old French "murmure", which in turn comes from Latin "murmur", an imitative word for a low, continuous sound such as the hum of bees or running water. The sound-based origin is why the word feels so onomatopoeic, even though its path into English ran through French. The suffix did most of the work of building the agent noun. English "-er" descends from Old English "-ere", which itself traces back through Latin "-arius" to a much older Indo-European pattern for forming nouns of a person associated with an action. Attaching it to "murmur" produced a word for someone who makes that low sound, and the plural "murmurers" simply groups several such people together.

Synonyms: whisperers, mutterers