whisper
pronunciation
How to pronounce whisper in British English:
UK [ˈwɪspə(r)]
How to pronounce whisper in American English:
US [ˈwɪspər]
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- Noun:
- speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
- the light noise like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
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- Verb:
- speak softly; in a low voice
Word Origin
- whisper
- whisper: [OE] Whisper comes ultimately from the prehistoric Germanic base *khwis-, which imitated a sort of hissing sound. This also produced German wispeln and wispern ‘whisper’, and with a different suffix it gave English whistle.=> whistle
- whisper (v.)
- Old English hwisprian "speak very softly, murmur" (only in a Northumbrian gloss for Latin murmurare), from Proto-Germanic *hwis- (cognates: Middle Dutch wispelen, Old High German hwispalon, German wispeln, wispern, Old Norse hviskra "to whisper"), from PIE *kwei- "to hiss, whistle," imitative. Transitive sense is from 1560s. Related: Whispered; whispering. An alternative verb, now obsolete, was whister (late 14c., from Old English hwæstrian), and Middle English had whistringe grucchere "a slanderer."
- whisper (n.)
- 1590s, from whisper (v.).
Antonym
Example
- 1. Then he spoke , not this time in a whisper .
- 2. A congenital lip deformity caused him to speak in a nasal almost unintelligible whisper .
- 3. The sense of secrecy , mysteriousness and excitement that comes from a whisper is very attractive .
- 4. A white house official claims that the protests were the result of a " concerted viral whisper campaign " .
- 5. Lie on a blanket in a park , with people all around , and whisper fantasies to one another , sparing no detail .