murmur

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
murmur/ˈmɜːmə(r)/

▶noun

• 1 a low continuous background noise.

• 2 a quietly spoken utterance.

  ■ the quiet or subdued expression of a feeling.

• 3 Medicine a recurring sound heard in the heart through a stethoscope that is usually a sign of disease or damage.

▶verb

• 1 say something in a murmur.

• 2 make a low continuous sound.

– phrases
without a murmur without complaining.

– derivatives
murmurer noun,
murmurous adjective.

– origin ME: from OFr. murmure, from murmurer ‘to murmur’, from L. murmurare, from murmur ‘a murmur’.