silent
See also: SILENT
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- scilent (hypercorrect, obsolete)
Etymology
[edit]From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]silent (comparative silenter or more silent, superlative silentest or most silent)
- Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
- How silent is this town!
- 1825, Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy, The Works of Samuel Johnson, Talboys and Wheeler, page 52:
- What was formerly performed by fleets and armies, by invasions, sieges, and battles, has been of late accomplished by more silent methods.
- 1906, William Dean Howells, Sidney Dillon Ripley, Certain Delightful English Towns: With Glimpses of the Pleasant Country Between, Harper & Brothers, page 152:
- The voice of the auctioneer is slow and low […] ; after a pause, which seems no silenter than the rest of the transaction, he ceases to repeat the bids, and his fish, in the measure of a bushel or so, have gone for a matter of three shillings.
- Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
- 1725–1726, Homer, “(please specify the book or chapter of the Odyssey)”, in [William Broome, Elijah Fenton, Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
- Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most silent of men.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- This new-created world, whereof in hell / Fame is not silent.
- 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 38:
- Tothero is silent before replying. His great strength is in these silences; he has the disciplinarian's trick of waiting a long moment while his words gather weight.
- Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed.
- a. 1718, Thomas Parnell, Hesiod; or, the Rise of Woman:
- The winds were silent, all the waves asleep, / And heaven was trac'd upon the flattering deep
- (pronunciation) Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent.
- The e is silent in fable.
- Silent letters can make some words difficult to spell.
- The “l” in the English word "salmon" is silent.
- Having no effect; not operating; inefficient.
- 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
- Cause […] silent, virtueless, and dead.
- (technology) With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode.
- My phone was on silent.
- (technology) Without audio capability.
- The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.
- Hidden, unseen.
- a silent voter; a silent partner
- Of an edit or change to a text, not explicitly acknowledged.
- silent revisions; a silent emendation
- 2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, , page 496:
- [T]he use of both acknowledged and unacknowledged (silent) translations of non-English sources makes it difficult for users to determine if a certain term genuinely appeared in an English-language text.
- (genetics) Not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence.
- Undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms.
- Of distilled spirit: having no flavour or odour.
Synonyms
[edit]- (free from sound or noise): quiet; see also Thesaurus:silent
- (not speaking; indisposed to talk): speechless, taciturn; see also Thesaurus:taciturn
- (not speaking; mute): dumb, mute; see also Thesaurus:mute
- (keeping at rest): dormant, still; see also Thesaurus:inactive
- (not pronounced): mute, quiescent, servile
- (hidden; unseen): concealed, invisible, occluded; see also Thesaurus:hidden
Derived terms
[edit]- be silent
- fall silent
- on silent
- pseudosilent
- radio silent
- right to remain silent
- serosilent
- silent agitator
- silent alarm
- silent as a grave
- silent as the grave
- silent as the tomb
- silent auction
- silent barter
- silent butler
- silent-but-violent
- silent cinema
- silent commerce
- silent cop
- silent disco
- silent fart
- silent film
- silent forest syndrome
- silent h
- silentish
- silent key
- silent killer
- silent listing
- silently
- silent majority
- silent miscarriage
- silent mode
- silent mutation
- silent number
- silent partner
- silent policeman
- Silent Sam
- silent Sam
- silent service
- silent treatment
- silent vote
- silent whistle
- strong silent type
Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet
|
not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn
|
keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed
not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent
|
having no effect; not operating; inefficient
in silent mode, on silent, with the sound turned off
|
without audio capability
not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence
|
undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms
|
to refrain from speaking — see be silent
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun
[edit]silent (plural silents)
- (uncountable) That which is silent; a time of silence.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
- Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night.
- A silent movie
- 1978 April 22, “The Celluloid Closet”, in Gay Community News, page 2:
- More than 40 films will be shown spanning the past seventy-five years, including early silents and talkies, contemporary productions, foreign and American films, documentaries, underground works and television shows.
Translations
[edit]that which is silent
Further reading
[edit]- “silent”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “silent”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “silent”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
[edit]Catalan
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]silent m or f (masculine and feminine plural silents)
French
[edit]Verb
[edit]silent
Anagrams
[edit]Latin
[edit]Verb
[edit]silent
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/aɪlənt
- Rhymes:English/aɪlənt/2 syllables
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Technology
- en:Genetics
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- en:Talking
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan epicene adjectives
- French non-lemma forms
- French verb forms
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms