susurrus (n.)
Pronunciation: su-SUHR-uhs
Definition: A low, indistinct, and often continuous sound: mumble, murmur, sigh, sough, susurration, whisper.
In a quite boring turn, susurrus comes from the Latin susurrus meaning - you guessed it - a murmering, whispering, or humming.
In a much more interesting turn, our word of the day has a close link to Ellen's childhood. When she was a young girl (and inventing her own language - more on that in future words of the day) she was unable (or unwilling) to pronounce her brother's name: Nathaniel. For reasons lost to the ages, she called him Susuh. The whole family calls him that to this day. (It's pronounced: suh-suh. A quick little pyrrhic foot.)
So go wild; but softly. Be a susurrant. Susurration is another noun. If you want to speak susurrously, you may have to repeat yourself. If, when you drift to sleep, you need susurrous noise to lull you, as Ellen does, make sure you have no guests whom you have to give your fan to in order to drown out the incessant whining of your porch cat.
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