An archaic or dialectal exclamation expressing doubt, thinking, or mild disagreement; an old variant of 'hmm' or 'ahem'.
From Middle English, possibly onomatopoetic in origin, expressing hesitation or throat-clearing. Related to modern 'ahem' and 'hmm'.
This sound shows up in Shakespeare and old literature as a way to show someone pausing to think—it's basically the same as when you say 'uhhhh' while deciding something, just spelled fancy.
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