rumor

[ roo-mer ]

/ ˈru mər /

a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts: a rumor of war.

gossip; hearsay: Don't listen to rumor.

Archaic. a continuous, confused noise; clamor; din.

to circulate, report, or assert by a rumor: It is rumored that the king is dead.

Also especially British, ru·mour.

Origin of rumor

1325–75; Middle English rumour < Middle French < Latin rūmor; akin to Sanskrit rāuti, rāvati (he) cries

1 report.

un·ru·mored, adjective

Not even Radio Bemba (Cuban slang for the rumor mill) had picked up the signal.

The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind |Brin-Jonathan Butler |December 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He does, however, attempt to dispel some of the myths that have emerged from hearsay and rumor over the last century.

How WWI Produced the Holocaust |J.P. O’Malley |November 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Thus the rumor as well as the reality of the threat is used for intimidation.

Acid Attacks on Women Spread Terror in Iran |IranWire |October 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A Rumor of Angels: Quotations for Living, Dying and Letting Goby Gail Perry Johnson and Jill Perry Rabideau.

Book Bag: Reading Your Way Out Of Grief |Anna Whiston-Donaldson |October 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

But the rumor that House Republicans were cutting funding for Ebola had already taken off.

Progressive Bloggers Spread False Ebola Story |Tim Mak |September 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
As for the rumor, the world will no doubt roll round, whether Burnside is defeated or succeeds.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864 |Various
Only once had Harlan been able to refute the charge of rumor.

'Drag' Harlan |Charles Alden Seltzer
There's a rumor that some one is in town, now, looking for me.

The Cup of Trembling and Other Stories |Mary Hallock Foote
He had heard a rumor concerning Ruiz Rios, long ago, half forgotten.

Daughter of the Sun |Jackson Gregory
The rumor of it spread through the rooms, and the crowd about the roulette received a large contingent of spectators.

Confidence |Henry James