Etymology

chirm

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Today it means: A din or confused noise, as of many voices, birdsong, etc. Full definition →

Middle English chirmen ← Old English ċirman ← Proto-West Germanic *karmijan
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*karmaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*karmi
  3. Old English · inherited fromċirm
  4. Middle English · inherited fromchirm“the call of various birds; chirping”
  5. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*karmijan“to make a sound”
  6. Old English · inherited fromċirman“to make a noise, cry out, shout”
  7. Middle English · inherited fromchirmen“to chirp, twitter”
  8. English todaychirm

From Middle English chirmen (“to chirp, twitter”), from Old English ċirman (“to make a noise, cry out, shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *karmijan (“to make a sound”). The noun is from Middle English chirm (“the call of various birds; chirping”), from Old English ċirm, ċyrm, ċearm (“noise, cry, alarm”), from Proto-West Germanic *karmi, *karm, from Proto-Germanic *karmaz, *karmiz. Doublet of charm (“sound, voices; group, flock”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.