Harrumph. verb: 1. to clear the throat audibly in a self-important manner: The professor harrumphed good-naturedly. 2. to express oneself gruffly.
Quotes: “He harrumphed and wheezed, tugged on a greying whisker, cast his gaze around my tiny cabin for another topic. ” — Ronald Wright, Henderson’s Spear, 2001
“He studied me with a cold policeman’s eye. I resorted once again to my mumbling tactics. He harrumphed and we both went our ways. ” — Ted Reynolds, “Furtive Free Ride,” Life, February 7, 1964
Origin: Harrumph was first recorded in the 1930s. It is imitative of the sound made by clearing the throat.
Lexicography 