Origin of whispering
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Origin of whisper
Examples from the Web for whispering
Contemporary Examples of whispering
Whispering to himself and bowing, he touches his forehead to the ground.Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley
Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014
The budget is a mess and officials in Trenton are whispering about a state takeover of the city's finances.The Leak of a Mysterious Video Could Change the Outcome of Newark’s Mayor’s Race
Charles Upton Sahm
May 5, 2014
The World Wide Web is whispering that it's actually a reference to Avril Lavigne's own, well, “kitty.”Avril Lavigne’s Dumb ‘Hello Kitty’ Video Is Rife with Cultural Appropriation
April 25, 2014
I studied them to see if they were whispering to each other, to talk about what to do.What That RNC Aide’s Equal Pay Blunder on MSNBC Says About Her Party
April 9, 2014
Bonus—read his A Time of Gifts about his walk across Europe in 1933-1934 before a whispering fire.My Favorite Books of 2013: Jill Lepore, Adelle Waldman, James Salter & More
December 15, 2013
Historical Examples of whispering
Already the inward monitor was whispering to her, "Arise, flee for your life!"Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
I could not refrain from whispering, "Don't cry—I am alive."Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
The sergeant was already there, whispering to Colonel Winchester.The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
Suddenly there was a hum and a stir and a buzz of whispering in the room.
Memories of the past are whispering to him: 'Choose the flower.
Word Origin for whisper
Old English hwisprian "speak very softly" (only in a Northumbrian gloss for Latin murmurare), from Proto-Germanic *khwis- (cf. Middle Dutch wispelen, Old High German hwispalon, German wispeln, wispern, Old Norse hviskra "to whisper"), imitative and probably related to Old English hwistlian "to whistle." Related: Whispered; whispering. The noun is from 1590s.
see stage whisper.