mumble
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English momelen, a frequentative of mum (sense 3) (“silent”).[1] Compare German mümmeln, Middle Dutch mommelen and Dutch mompelen.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]mumble (third-person singular simple present mumbles, present participle mumbling, simple past and past participle mumbled)
- (transitive, intransitive) To speak unintelligibly or inaudibly; to fail to articulate.
- Please try not to mumble so I can hear you better.
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
- Peace, you mumbling fool.
- 1680, Thomas Otway, The Orphan:
- A wrinkled hag, with age grown double, / Picking dry sticks, and mumbling to herself.
- To chew something gently with closed lips.
Synonyms
[edit]- See also Thesaurus:mutter
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to speak unintelligibly
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Noun
[edit]mumble (plural mumbles)
- A quiet or unintelligible vocalization; a low tone of voice.
- All I could hear was a mumble from the next room.
- He spoke in a barely comprehensible mumble.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]quiet vocalization
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References
[edit]- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ʌmbəl
- Rhymes:English/ʌmbəl/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English frequentative verbs
- English onomatopoeias
- English reporting verbs
- en:Talking