Susurr

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A faint, soft murmuring or rustling sound, like leaves stirring or voices speaking in hushed tones
2. The low, gentle whisper of wind through grass or of people speaking quietly to one another
3. A quiet, continuous sound of softly moving or murmuring elements that is barely heard

Etymology: Latin "susurrus" meant a soft whispering or murmur, the sound of wind through leaves or of many voices speaking low. It is imitative: the repeated "s" and "r" sounds mimic the hushed hiss and rustle they describe. Latin built a verb from it, "susurrare," meaning to whisper or murmur, and that verb is the ancestor of English "whisper"-type words in the same sound-symbolic family. The form "susurr" is a rare, literary English borrowing that keeps the Latin stem, most likely as a shortened or clipped version of "susurrus." English writers have used the Latin-derived set ("susurrus," "susurration," "susurrate") mainly for poetic effect, to suggest a whisper or a rustle more vividly than a plain English word would.