whisper English · revision 39965

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English|origins=gem-pro *hwisprōną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈ(h)wɪspə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|whisperen]], [[inh|ang|hwisprian|t=to speak very softly, murmur]],^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) which is found only in Northumbrian, in a gloss on [[m|la|murmurō]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) [[inh|gem-pro|*hwisprōną]].^(Etymonline) It is formed on an imitative base, [[gem-pro|*hwis-]], that suggested a hissing sound,^(Hoad 1986)^(Ayto 2005)^(SOED 2002) and is related to [[dum|wispelen]] and [[gml|wispelen]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) [[goh|hwispalōn]] (modern [[de|wispeln]] and [[m|de|wispern]]),^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 2026)^(ODE 2010) [[non|hvískra]] and [[m|non|hvísla]],^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) [[da|hviske]] and [[sv|viska]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 2026) The same base, with a different suffix, gave [[whistle]],^(Ayto 2005)^(ODE 2010)^(Barnhart 1995) and Etymonline traces it to an imitative root [[ine-pro|*kwei-|t=to hiss, whistle]].^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com also compare [[whine]].^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To speak softly, under one's breath: Old English, in the Lindisfarne Gospels (about 950).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) The Middle English form ''whysperen'' is recorded in the ''Promptorium Parvulorum'' (1440).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 16th century the verb gained its other uses: to speak quietly or in secret against someone, implying malice or conspiracy (about 1530), to address someone in a whisper (1540), and to say something by whispering (1598, in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost''), the transitive use that Etymonline dates to the 1560s.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The figurative senses followed: to suggest secretly to the mind (1640) and, of leaves, water or wind, to make a soft rustling sound (1653, in Walton's ''Compleat Angler'').^(OED 2026) The noun was formed from the verb in the 1590s,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) first for a secret report or hint (1596), then for the act of whispering (1609, in ''Pericles'') and for a soft rustling sound (1638, in Milton's ''Lycidas'').^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as "a low soft voice".^(Johnson 1755) In 19th-century criminal slang a ''whisper'' was a tip or rumour (1849) and a request for money (1865), and ''to whisper'' meant to borrow money.^(GDoS) In Kent, when someone in a household that kept bees died, it was the custom to go to the hives and whisper the death to the bees.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 950 – ''hwisprian'', to speak softly, in the Lindisfarne Gospels.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)

+ * 1440 – ''whysperen'', in the ''Promptorium Parvulorum''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1530 – to talk secretly or maliciously.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1596 – noun: a hint or rumour.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1598 – to say something in a whisper.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1609 – noun: the act of whispering.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1638 – noun: a soft rustling sound.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1653 – verb: to rustle softly.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1849 – (slang) a tip or rumour.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To speak very softly, using the [[breath]] and little or no [[voice]]: ''The children whispered so as not to wake the baby.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To say something softly or privately: ''She whispered the answer to her neighbour.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # To talk or spread rumours secretly, especially with [[malice]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of leaves, wind or water, to make a soft [[rustle|alt=rustling]] sound.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very soft, low voice: ''He spoke in a whisper.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # Something said in such a voice.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[rumour]], [[hint]] or secret report.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A soft rustling sound.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[whisperer]]

+ * [[whispery]]

+ * [[whisperous]]

+ * [[stage whisper]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[whistle]]

+ * [[whine]]

+ * [[murmur]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}