Wiktionary

mute

See also: Mute, muté, and mutē

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English muet, from Anglo-Norman muet, moet, Middle French muet, from mu (“dumb, mute”) + -et, remodelled after Latin mūtus.

Adjective

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mute (comparative muter, superlative mutest)

  1. Not having the power of speech; dumb. [from 15th c.]
    • 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
      Thus, while the mute creation downward bend / Their sight, and to their earthly mother tend, / Man looks aloft; and with erected eyes / Beholds his own hereditary skies. / From such rude principles our form began; / And earth was metamorphos'd into Man.
  2. Silent; not making a sound. [from 15th c.]
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, 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:
      All the heavenly choir stood mute, / And silence was in heaven.
    • 1956, Ernst Kaiser and Eithne Wilkins (?, translators), Lion Feuchtwanger (German author), Raquel: The Jewess of Toledo (translation of Die Jüdin von Toledo),[2] Messner, page 178:
      “ […] The heathens have broken into Thy Temple, and Thou art silent! Esau mocks Thy Children, and Thou remainest mute! Show thyself, arise, and let Thy Voice resound, Thou mutest among all the mute!”
  3. Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; said of certain letters.
  4. Not giving a ringing sound when struck; said of a metal.
Usage notes
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  • (not having the power of speech): Now possibly offensive when used of humans.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

mute (plural mutes)

  1. (phonetics, now obsolete) A stopped consonant; a stop. [from 16th c.]
    Synonyms: occlusive, plosive, stop
  2. (obsolete, theater) An actor who does not speak; a mime performer. [16th–19th c.]
    • 1668 OF Dramatick Poesie, AN ESSAY. By JOHN DRYDEN Esq; (John Dryden)
      As for the poor honest Maid, whom all the Story is built upon, and who ought to be one of the principal Actors in the Play, she is commonly a Mute in it:
  3. A person who does not have the power of speech. [from 17th c.]
  4. A hired mourner at a funeral; an undertaker's assistant. [from 18th c.]
    • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter IX, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 95:
      He asked about the undertaking business, and how many mutes went down with Lady Estrich’s remains […]
    • 1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, →OCLC:
      The little box was eventually carried in one hand by the leading mute, while his colleague, with a finger placed on the lid, to prevent it from swaying, walked to one side and a little to the rear.
    • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 481:
      Then followed a long silence during which the mute turned to them and said, ‘Of course you'll be wanting an urn, sir?’
  5. (music) An object for dulling the sound of an instrument, especially a brass instrument, or damper for pianoforte; a sordine. [from 18th c.]
  6. An electronic switch or control that mutes the sound.
    • 2012, Tomlinson Holman, Sound for Film and Television, page 174:
      Another related primary control is called a mute, which is simply a switch that kills the signal altogether, allowing for a speedier turn-off than turning the fader all the way down rapidly. Mutes are probably more commonly used during multitrack music recording than during film mixing because in music all tracks are on practically all of the time, whereas workstations produce silence when there is no desired signal […]
  7. A mute swan.
    • 1998, Bob Devine, National Geographic Society (U.S.), Alien invasion: America's battle with non-native animals and plants:
      The trumpeters' fate seems likely to get tangled with that of the mute swan. Currently there's enough habitat for both species, but that may change if trumpeters flourish and mutes aren't controlled. Right now mutes are thriving.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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mute (third-person singular simple present mutes, present participle muting, simple past and past participle muted)

  1. (transitive) To silence, to make quiet.
  2. (transitive) To turn off the sound of.
    Antonym: unmute
    Please mute the music while I make a call.
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also

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Etymology 2

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From Middle French muetir, probably a shortened form of esmeutir, ultimately from Proto-Germanic.

Verb

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mute (third-person singular simple present mutes, present participle muting, simple past and past participle muted)

  1. (now rare) Of a bird: to defecate. [from 15th c.]

Noun

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mute (plural mutes)

  1. The faeces of a hawk or falcon.
Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Latin mutare (“to change”).

Verb

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mute (third-person singular simple present mutes, present participle muting, simple past and past participle muted)

  1. (transitive) To cast off; to moult.

Esperanto

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Etymology

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From muta +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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mute

  1. mutely, speechlessly

French

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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mute

  1. inflection of muter:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

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Galician

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Verb

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mute

  1. inflection of mutar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmu.te/
  • Rhymes: -ute
  • Hyphenation: mù‧te

Adjective

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mute

  1. feminine plural of muto

Noun

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mute f pl

  1. plural of muta

Latgalian

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Etymology

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Cognates include Latvian mute.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmutʲæ]
  • Hyphenation: mu‧te

Noun

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mute f

  1. mouth

Declension

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Declension of mute (type 5 noun)
singular plural
nominative mute mutis, mutes1)
genitive mutis, mutes1) mušu
dative mutei mutem, mušom1)
accusative muti mutis, mutes1)
instrumental muti mutem, mušom1)
locative mutē, mutī1) mutēs, mušuos1)
vocative mute, mut mutis, mutes1)

1) dialectal

References

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  • A. Andronov, L. Leikuma (2008) Latgalīšu-Latvīšu-Krīvu sarunu vuordineica, Lvava, →ISBN, page 172

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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mūte

  1. vocative masculine singular of mūtus

Latvian

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 mute on Latvian Wikipedia
 
Mute

Etymology

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From Proto-Indo-European *mnt-, *ment- (“to chew; jaw, mouth”). Cognate with Latin mentum (“chin”) and mandō (“to chew”), Ancient Greek μάσταξ (mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι (masáomai, “to chew”), Welsh mant (“jawbone”), Hittite [script needed] (mēni, “chin”), Proto-Germanic *munþaz (“mouth”) (English mouth, German Mund, Dutch mond, Swedish mun, Icelandic munnur, Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (munþs)). Another suggestion is a root *mu-, perhaps of ideophonic origin (noise made by using the vocal chords when the mouth is closed), apparently found also in other words (e.g. German Maul).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mute f (5th declension)

  1. (anatomy) mouth (orifice for ingesting food)
    mutes orgāni ― mouth organs
    aizvērt muti ― to close one's mouth
    plātīt muti ― to keep one's mouth open, to gape
    turēt mutē konfekti ― to have candy in one's mouth
    mutes kaktiņi ― corners of the mouth
    mutes harmonikas ― harmonica (musical instrument)
  2. orifice, opening, entrance
    krāsns mute ― the mouth of the oven
  3. face
    mazgāt muti ― to wash one's mouth (= face)
    bērni ar netīrām mutēm ― children with dirty mouths (= faces)
  4. kiss
    dot mutes ― to give mouths (= kisses)

Declension

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Declension of mute (5th declension)
singular plural
nominative mute mutes
genitive mutes mutu
dative mutei mutēm
accusative muti mutes
instrumental muti mutēm
locative mutē mutēs
vocative mute mutes

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “mute”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca‎[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN

Middle English

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Adjective

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mute

  1. Alternative form of muet

Murui Huitoto

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmutɛ]
  • Hyphenation: mu‧te

Etymology 1

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

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mute

  1. (transitive) to feel sorry for
  2. (transitive) to complain about
Conjugation
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Conjugation of mute
Nonfuture indicative Future indicative
affirmative negative affirmative negative
m f m f m f m f
1st sg mutɨkue muñedɨkue 1st sg muitɨkue muñeitɨkue
2nd sg muto muñedo 2nd sg muito muñeito
3rd sg anim1) mutɨmɨe mutɨñaiño muñedɨmɨe muñedɨñaiño 3rd sg anim1) muitɨmɨe muitɨñaiño muñeitɨmɨe muñeitɨñaiño
1st du mutɨkoko mutɨkaɨñaɨ muñedɨkoko muñedɨkaɨñaɨ 1st du muitɨkoko muitɨkaɨñaɨ muñeitɨkoko muñeitɨkaɨñaɨ
2nd du mutomɨko mutomɨñoɨ muñedomɨko muñedomɨñoɨ 2nd du muitomɨko muitomɨñoɨ muñeitomɨko muñeitomɨñoɨ
3rd du anim1) mutaɨmaiaɨ mutaɨñuaɨ muñedaɨmaiaɨ muñedaɨñuaɨ 3rd du anim1) muitaɨmaiaɨ muitaɨñuaɨ muñeitaɨmaiaɨ muñeitaɨñuaɨ
1st pl mutɨkaɨ muñedɨkaɨ 1st pl muitɨkaɨ muñeitɨkaɨ
2nd pl mutomoɨ muñedomoɨ 2nd pl muitomoɨ muñeitomoɨ
3rd pl anim1) mutɨmakɨ muñedɨmakɨ 3rd pl anim1) muitɨmakɨ muñeitɨmakɨ
3rd neut mute muñede 3rd neut muite muñeite
Imperative Apprehensive Future event Passive Negative passive Overlap
simple immediate prohibitive nonfuture future nonfuture future
muno! munokai! muñeno! muiza! muye muga muyɨ muñega muñeyɨ mukana
Conditional 1) The animate 3rd person inflections are only used when the animacy of the subject needs to be emphasised. Otherwise, the neutral 3rd singular is used.
*) Same-time forms may be formed from any indicative form by adding the ending -mo directly to the inflected form.
**) The evidentiality markers -dɨ, -za and -ta may be added to any indicative form.
real hypothetical immediate
muia muna mukaina

Etymology 2

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Onomatopoeic.

Verb

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mute

  1. (intransitive) to produce the sound jmm
Conjugation
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Conjugation of mute
Nonfuture indicative Future indicative
affirmative negative affirmative negative
m f m f m f m f
1st sg mutɨkue muñedɨkue 1st sg muitɨkue muñeitɨkue
2nd sg muto muñedo 2nd sg muito muñeito
3rd sg anim1) mutɨmɨe mutɨñaiño muñedɨmɨe muñedɨñaiño 3rd sg anim1) muitɨmɨe muitɨñaiño muñeitɨmɨe muñeitɨñaiño
1st du mutɨkoko mutɨkaɨñaɨ muñedɨkoko muñedɨkaɨñaɨ 1st du muitɨkoko muitɨkaɨñaɨ muñeitɨkoko muñeitɨkaɨñaɨ
2nd du mutomɨko mutomɨñoɨ muñedomɨko muñedomɨñoɨ 2nd du muitomɨko muitomɨñoɨ muñeitomɨko muñeitomɨñoɨ
3rd du anim1) mutaɨmaiaɨ mutaɨñuaɨ muñedaɨmaiaɨ muñedaɨñuaɨ 3rd du anim1) muitaɨmaiaɨ muitaɨñuaɨ muñeitaɨmaiaɨ muñeitaɨñuaɨ
1st pl mutɨkaɨ muñedɨkaɨ 1st pl muitɨkaɨ muñeitɨkaɨ
2nd pl mutomoɨ muñedomoɨ 2nd pl muitomoɨ muñeitomoɨ
3rd pl anim1) mutɨmakɨ muñedɨmakɨ 3rd pl anim1) muitɨmakɨ muñeitɨmakɨ
3rd neut mute muñede 3rd neut muite muñeite
Imperative Apprehensive Future event Passive Negative passive Overlap
simple immediate prohibitive nonfuture future nonfuture future
muno! munokai! muñeno! muiza! muye — — — — mukana
Conditional 1) The animate 3rd person inflections are only used when the animacy of the subject needs to be emphasised. Otherwise, the neutral 3rd singular is used.
*) Same-time forms may be formed from any indicative form by adding the ending -mo directly to the inflected form.
**) The evidentiality markers -dɨ, -za and -ta may be added to any indicative form.
real hypothetical immediate
muia muna mukaina

References

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  • Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎[3] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 183
  • Katarzyna Izabela Wojtylak (2017) A grammar of Murui (Bue): a Witotoan language of Northwest Amazonia.‎[4], Townsville: James Cook University press (PhD thesis), pages 113, 129

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse múta from Proto-Germanic *mōtō (of unclear origin). Compare Swedish muta.

Noun

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mute f (definite singular muta, indefinite plural muter, definite plural mutene)

  1. bribe
  2. secrecy

Verb

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mute (present tense mutar, past tense muta, past participle muta, passive infinitive mutast, present participle mutande, imperative mute/mut)

  1. (transitive) to bribe
  2. (transitive) to hide, conceal

Etymology 2

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From German muten.

Verb

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mute (present tense mutar, past tense muta, past participle muta, passive infinitive mutast, present participle mutande, imperative mute/mut)

  1. (mining) to apply for a mining permit

References

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Portuguese

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Verb

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mute

  1. inflection of mutar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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mute

  1. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of muta

Serbo-Croatian

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Verb

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mute (Cyrillic spelling муте)

  1. third-person plural present indicative of mutiti

Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmute/ [ˈmu.t̪e]
  • Rhymes: -ute
  • Syllabification: mu‧te

Verb

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mute

  1. inflection of mutar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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