A murmur is a soft, low, and often continuous sound, like quiet talking or the noise of a stream. In medicine, it also means an unusual sound made by blood flowing through the heart.
From Latin *murmur* “a low, continuous sound, grumble,” an old imitative word that echoes the sound it describes. Many languages use repeated syllables like this to represent soft or unclear noise.
“Murmur” is almost onomatopoeic—its gentle “mur-mur” sound imitates what it names. Even the medical sense keeps the idea of a soft, abnormal “whisper” in the heart. It’s one of those words where saying it correctly already teaches you part of its meaning.
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