Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Susurrus
‖
Su-sur′rus
,Noun.
[L.]
The act of whispering; a whisper; a murmur.
De Quincey.
The soft
susurrus
and sighs of the branches. Longfellow.
Definition 2024
susurrus
susurrus
English
Noun
susurrus (plural susurruses)
- (literary) A whispering or rustling sound; a murmur.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of De Quincey to this entry?)
- The soft susurrus and sighs of the branches. — Longfellow.
- 2000, George R. R. Martin, A Storm of Swords, ISBN 9780553106633, page 555:
- They heard the Green Fork before they saw it, an endless susurrus, like the growl of some great beast.
- 2004, Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram: A Novel, ISBN 0312330529, page 613:
- I sipped at a drink and smoked cigarettes in a silence so profound that I could hear the susurrus of the blindfold's soft fabric rustle and slip between my fingers.
- 2007, Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind, ISBN 9780756404741, page 301:
- I walked steadily toward the pennant pole amid a sea of susurrus murmurings.
- 2008, Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book, ISBN 0060530928, page 262:
- Bod could feel the Sleer listening to Jack's words, could feel a low susurrus of excitement building in the chamber.
Related terms
Translations
whispering or rustling sound
Latin
Etymology
Reduplication of imitative Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to buzz, hum”). See also Latin surdus, Lithuanian surma (“a pipe”), Russian свире́ль (svirélʹ, “a pipe, reed”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /suˈsur.rus/, [sʊˈsʊr.rʊs]
Noun
susurrus m (genitive susurrī); second declension
Inflection
Second declension.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | susurrus | susurrī |
genitive | susurrī | susurrōrum |
dative | susurrō | susurrīs |
accusative | susurrum | susurrōs |
ablative | susurrō | susurrīs |
vocative | susurre | susurrī |
Descendants
- Italian: sussurro
References
- susurrus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- susurrus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “susurrus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.