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murmell (MUR-muhl) - v., to grumble, complain, mutter, lament; (of a baby) to coo, gurgle. n., a complaint.
Once exclusively Scots, now used only in the Orkneys, but deserves wider use. First recorded in the 16th century, and the OED speculates that it's possibly from Old French mormeler, to murmur, from the Germanic root that gave English murmur direct, though other sources trace the French to Latin murmurare, to make a low continuous sound. Dang etymologists, grumble grumble.
---L.
Once exclusively Scots, now used only in the Orkneys, but deserves wider use. First recorded in the 16th century, and the OED speculates that it's possibly from Old French mormeler, to murmur, from the Germanic root that gave English murmur direct, though other sources trace the French to Latin murmurare, to make a low continuous sound. Dang etymologists, grumble grumble.
---L.
