silent
See also: SILENT
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- scilent (hypercorrect, obsolete)
EtymologyEdit
From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
silent (comparative silenter or more silent, superlative silentest or most silent)
- Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
- 1604, William Shakespeare, Othello, act 5, scene 1:
- 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 and 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.
- 1604, William Shakespeare, Othello, act 5, scene 1:
- Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
- 1725, William Broome, The Odyssey
- Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most silent of men.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book 4”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- This new-created world, whereof in hell / Fame is not silent.
- 1725, William Broome, The Odyssey
- Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed.
- The wind is silent.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Parnell to this entry?)
- (pronunciation) Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent.
- The e is silent in fable.
- Silent letters can make some words difficult to spell.
- Having no effect; not operating; inefficient.
- 1614, Walter Raleigh, Historie of the World
- Cause […] silent, virtueless, and dead.
- 1614, Walter Raleigh, Historie of the World
- (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, DOI: , 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.
- 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.
SynonymsEdit
- (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 termsEdit
Terms derived from silent
TranslationsEdit
free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet
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not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn
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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
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without audio capability
not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence
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undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms
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to refrain from speaking — see be silent
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
NounEdit
silent (plural silents)
- (uncountable) That which is silent; a time of silence.
- 1591, William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iv]:
- Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night.
- A silent movie
- 2007 August 12, Woody Allen, “The Man Who Asked Hard Questions”, in New York Times[1]:
- All kinds, silents and talkies.
TranslationsEdit
that which is silent
Further readingEdit
- silent in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- silent in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- silent at OneLook Dictionary Search
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
VerbEdit
silent
AnagramsEdit
LatinEdit
VerbEdit
silent