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A
The sound of wind through leaves or trees — a soft, whispering, rustling noise associated with gentle breezes moving through foliage.
— OED rare words
B
From the Greek psithurismos, meaning a whisper or a murmuring, derived from psithyrizo, to whisper.
— Greek etymology
C
Related to the Greek psithyros, meaning whispering or slanderous — the same root that gives us the idea of hushed, secretive speech.
— Classical Greek
D
Cited by nature writers as one of several English words for specific natural sounds, alongside sough (the moaning of wind) and susurrus (a low murmuring).
— Nature writing lexicon
E
The word was popularised in English by the Romantic poets, particularly Keats, who used a form of it in his Odes to describe the animated presence of nature.
— Keats scholarship