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Glite Dictionary
happy murr

happy murr

9.9
A soft sound a cat makes when it feels pleased
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : ronroneo
  • The kitten curled up in her lap with a happy murr as she stroked its fur.

Examples

  • After a long nap in the sun, the old tomcat welcomed his owner with a soft happy murr.

  • The cat made a happy murr as it snuggled on my lap.

  • A gentle happy murr escaped from the cat whenever it was fed its favorite food.

  • Did you hear that happy murr from the kitten?

  • A gentle happy murr escaped from the cat whenever it was fed its favorite food.

  • After a long nap in the sun, the old tomcat welcomed his owner with a soft happy murr.

  • The kitten curled up in her lap with a happy murr as she stroked its fur.

Synonyms

purr
vshappy murr
14 1.0

A low soft vibrating sound a cat makes when happy

is a softer more general animal sound rather than a specific vibrating cat sound

Antonyms

to growl
76 2.2

To make a low, deep sound to warn or show anger

moan of frustration
4.5

A low sound people make when they feel annoyed or disappointed

Surface Forms

happy murr singular
happy murrs plural

Morphology

happy + murr

This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'murr' denotes a soft cat sound and 'happy' describes its affect, so the combined meaning (a contented/pleased soft sound) follows directly from the constituents. The modifier-noun pattern is standard and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Happy murr comes from the soft, low sound a cat makes when it is content, like a mix between 'purr' and 'murmur'. So, it means a quiet, pleased sound an animal makes.