whisper

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/ UK /ˈ(h)wɪspə/ See IPA manual

Freq #6400

Meanings

1

verb
To speak very quietly using your breath, so only someone close can hear.

She leaned over to whisper a secret in my ear.
2

noun
A very quiet way of speaking, or the soft sound it makes.

He answered in a whisper so the baby wouldn't wake.
3

noun
A rumour or piece of unconfirmed news.

There are whispers that the company may close.
4

noun
A faint trace or small hint of something.

The soup had just a whisper of garlic.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to speak very quietly using... breathe

Word family

Forms whisperedwhisperingwhisperinglywhispers

Derived forms kissperwhispererwhisperhoodwhisperouswhispersomewhispery

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

stage whisper
a deliberately audible whisper intended to be heard by an audience

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English whisperen, from Old English hwisprian (“to mutter, murmur, whisper”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwisprōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwisprōną (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweys-, *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Dutch wisperen (“to whisper”), German wispern (“to mumble, whisper”). Related also to Danish hviske (“to whisper”), Icelandic hvískra (“to whisper”), Norwegian Bokmål hviske, kviskre (“to whisper”), Norwegian Nynorsk kviskre, kviskra (“to whisper”), Swedish viska (“to whisper”). More at English whistle.

whisperen Middle English hwisprian Old English *hwisprōn Proto-West Germanic *hwisprōną Proto-Germanic *ḱweys- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# whisper

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈ(h)wɪspə/
**Frequency rank:** 6400

## Meanings
1. To speak very quietly using your breath, so only someone close can hear.
2. A very quiet way of speaking, or the soft sound it makes.
3. A rumour or piece of unconfirmed news.
4. A faint trace or small hint of something.

## Examples
- She leaned over to whisper a secret in my ear.
- He answered in a whisper so the baby wouldn't wake.
- There are whispers that the company may close.
- The soup had just a whisper of garlic.

## Derived Forms
- kissper
- whisperer
- whisperhood
- whisperous
- whispersome
- whispery

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: whisperen
- Root: hwisprian
- Root: *hwisprōn
- Root: *hwisprōną
- Root: *ḱweys-

## Etymology
From Middle English whisperen, from Old English hwisprian (“to mutter, murmur, whisper”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwisprōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwisprōną (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweys-, *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Dutch wisperen (“to whisper”), German wispern (“to mumble, whisper”). Related also to Danish hviske (“to whisper”), Icelandic hvískra (“to whisper”), Norwegian Bokmål hviske, kviskre (“to whisper”), Norwegian Nynorsk kviskre, kviskra (“to whisper”), Swedish viska (“to whisper”). More at English whistle.

## AI Etymology
Whisper is from Middle English whisperen, from Old English hwisprian (“to mutter, murmur, whisper”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwisprōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwisprōną (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweys-, *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Dutch wisperen (“to whisper”), German wispern (“to mumble, whisper”). Related also to Danish hviske (“to whisper”), Icelandic hvískra (“to whisper”), Norwegian Bokmål hviske, kviskre (“to whisper”), Norwegian Nynorsk kviskre, kviskra (“to whisper”), Swedish viska (“to whisper”). More at English whistle. In present-day use, it can mean to speak very quietly using your breath, so only someone close can hear, or a very quiet way of speaking, or the soft sound it makes.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

markdown