wispern

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German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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17th century, from Low German wispern, chiefly displacing the above variant, from Middle High German and Middle Low German wispelen, ultimately of imitative origin (lautmalend).

The r-form could be a late alteration, but could also be old in view of Old English hwisprian, whence English whisper.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈvɪspərn/, [ˈvɪs.pɐn], [ˈʋɪs-]
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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wispern (weak, third-person singular present wispert, past tense wisperte, past participle gewispert, auxiliary haben)

  1. to whisper; to make a whispering sound (most often in a mysterious or eerie way)
    „Du wirst die Wahrheit bald erfahren“, wisperte sie.
    “You will soon know the truth”, she whispered.
    Ich lief durch den dunklen Wald, wo alles zu wispern und zu rauschen schien.
    I walked through the dark forest, where everything seemed to be whispering and rustling.

Usage notes

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  • The more general word for “to whisper” (to speak without voice) is flüstern.

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • wispern” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • wispern” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • wispern” in Duden online
  • wispern” in OpenThesaurus.de