Psithurism
psithurism/psithurisma noun
[sith-yuh-riz-uhm]/[sith-yuh-riz-muh]
1. The sound of rustling leaves or wind in the trees.
From the Ancient Greek ψιθυρίζω (psithurízō), meaning “to whisper,” or ψίθυρος (psíthyros), “whisper.”
“Look from your window some March morning of east wind — Eurus, ab urendo — and you may tell the quarter whence it blows by the tortured movement of the trees. They struggle with their aerial tormentor, and shudder as he smites them. Another day the sweet south is blowing; do you not see how the larch and lime palpitate with pleasure ? . . . do you not hear the musical psithurism of the feathered foliage?”
“The girl gazed for some moments at the crimson and yellow trees, on which a murmurous laughter of mocking winds arose, at times, and rustled on, and died away into the psithurisma of Theocritus; and the songs of the oriole and mocking-bird fluttering among the ripe fruit, or waving up into the sky, brought a pleasant smile to her lips.”
Further Reading and Exploration
psithurism – Wiktionary
Is the word “psithurism” really used in English? – English Language & Usage
