mussitation

English

Etymology

Latin mussātĭo, ceasing to speak

Noun

mussitation (plural mussitations)

1. speech conducted in a hushed manner, akin to a whisper or a murmur.
   • 1989, Nick Cave, And the Ass Saw the Angel

     The mussitation of the crowd dropped instantly.

2. (medicine) A comatose patient's action of forming words with his lips without producing sound.

References

• mussitation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913