Where does “whispering” come from?
Whispering derives from Middle English whisperen, Old English hwisprian, Proto-Germanic hwisprōną, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European ḱwey-, a root of uncertain original meaning.
whispering (English): present participle of whisper; that whispers;...
Definitions
- present participle of whisper; that whispers;...
Ancestry of “whispering”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | whisper | The act of speaking in a quiet voice, especially,... |
| 2 | Middle English | whisperen | — |
| 3 | Old English | hwisprian | to whisper |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwisprōną | to whistle, hiss, whisper |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱweys- | to hiss, whistle, whisper |
Words derived from “whispering”