murmuring
part of speech
verb, -ing form of murmur (murmuring); noun (a murmuring, murmurings); adjective (murmuring)
meaning for a pupil
1) Saying something quietly and softly, so it is hard to hear. tree →
2) Making a low, soft, continuous sound, like a stream, bees or the wind in leaves. tree →
3) (noun) Murmurings are quiet complaints or rumours: «murmurings of unhappiness». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: God says He hears the murmurings, which shows He notices every complaint, and the spies' bad report leads to a harsh decree. Interpretation: Tradition counts the spies' event as a great failure of faith, which is why that generation wandered forty years. In the primary lessons: In stories, a murmuring river or murmuring voices create a calm or secret mood. In The Wind in the Willows, the river is always murmuring and chattering, and the reeds whisper. In the Bible, the Israelites' «murmuring» in the desert means grumbling against Moses. Phrases: «murmuring stream», «murmuring voices».
examples
- 'I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. (Torah EXO.16.12, JPS 1917) tree →
- 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, that keep murmuring against Me? (Torah NUM.14.27, JPS 1917) tree →
- I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they keep murmuring against Me. (Torah NUM.14.27, JPS 1917) tree →
- The murmuring stream sent me to sleep. tree →
- We could hear voices murmuring behind the door. tree →
- Bees were murmuring in the lavender. tree →
- There were murmurings in class when the trip was cancelled. tree →
- The river went on murmuring through the night. tree →
- Mum sat murmuring a lullaby to the baby. tree →
- The crowd was murmuring before the show began. tree →
- The faint sound of murmuring people was in the air. tree →
note
Spelling: murmur + ing (one r at the end, no doubling). See murmur. Similar: whispering, muttering (more grumbly), humming.
In the corpora
- 'I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.
- 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, that keep murmuring against Me?
- I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they keep murmuring against Me.
- Rowing home in the evening sun, the Rat is murmuring poetry to himself.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «murmuring» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.