underbreathn.adj.adv.
1.
a. n. A low subdued tone; a whisper.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [noun] > undertone
undertone1762
undervoice1810
semitone1818
underbreath1844
1844 E. B. Barrett Duchess May in Poems II. 95 I said in underbreath,—all our life is mixed with death.
1884 H. R. Haweis My Musical Life 175 All the point was taken out of it [a story] because I had to hurry over it and end in a guilty kind of underbreath.
b. Whispered rumour.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun] > chatting or chat > gossiping > rumour
speechc1175
rumourc1384
voicea1393
reportc1425
vox populic1547
talk1560
skealtc1575
vox pop1735
reverie1787
underbreath1880
scuttlebutt1901
1880 G. Meredith Tragic Comedians I. ii. 28 She heard things related of Alvan by the under-breath.
2. adj. Low-toned, whispered.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [adjective] > whispering > whispered
whispered1567
breathed1579
whispering1599
whisper1626
underbreath1853
stage-whispered1941
1853 H. Lushington Italian War (1859) 259 Rather extravagant in his liberalism, and given to underbreath confessions of conspiracy.
1874 Aylward in Manning Ess. Relig. & Lit. III. 106 The audience was greatly excited, and under-breath communications were made.
3. adv. In an undertone or whisper.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > manner of speaking > [adverb] > in a whispered manner
roundingly?1406
whisperingly1580
under (also below) one's breath1636
auricularly1667
susurringly1830
whisperously1858
underbreath1865
1865 A. C. Swinburne Chastelard v. i. 177 Small broken oaths..And underbreath some praise of Ashtaroth Sighed laughingly.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.adj.adv.1844