silent

See also: SILENT

English

Alternative forms

• scilent (hypercorrect, obsolete)

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪlənt/
• Rhymes: -aɪlənt

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

silent (comparative silenter or more silent, superlative silentest or most silent)

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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

4. (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.

5. 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.

6. (technology) With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode.

   My phone was on silent.

7. (technology) Without audio capability.

   The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.

8. Hidden, unseen.

   a silent voter; a silent partner

9. 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.

10. (genetics) Not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence.
11. Undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms.
12. Of distilled spirit: having no flavour or odour.

Synonyms

• (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

• 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

• silence
• silentiary
• silentious

Translations

free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet

• Abkhaz: аҭынч (atənč)
• Arabic: صَامِت (ṣāmit), سَاكِت (sākit)

  Egyptian Arabic: ساكت m (saket), ساكتة f (sakta)

• Armenian: խաղաղ (hy) (xaġaġ), հանգիստ (hy) (hangist), հանդարտ (hy) (handart)
• Asturian: silenciosu
• Belarusian: ці́хі (be) m (cíxi), (verb "to be silent") маўча́ць impf (maŭčácʹ)
• Bengali: খামোশ (bn) (khamōś)
• Bulgarian: тих (bg) (tih), безшумен (bg) (bezšumen)
• Burmese: တိတ် (my) (tit)
• Catalan: silenciós (ca) m, callar (ca) (verb "to be silent")
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 安靜／安静 (on¹ zing⁶), 恬靜／恬静 (tim⁴ zing⁶, tim⁵ zing⁶), 靜／静 (zing⁶)

  Hakka: 安靜／安静 (ôn-chhin), 恬靜／恬静 (tiâm-chhin), 恬 (tiâm), 恬恬 (tiâm-tiâm)

  Hokkien: 安靜／安静 (zh-min-nan) (an-chēng), 恬恬 (zh-min-nan) (tiām-tiām), 恬靜／恬静 (zh-min-nan) (tiām-chēng), 恬 (zh-min-nan) (tiām)

  Mandarin: 安靜／安静 (zh) (ānjìng), 恬靜／恬静 (zh) (tiánjìng)

• Czech: tichý (cs), mlčet (cs) (verb "to be silent")
• Dutch: stil (nl)
• Esperanto: kvieta (eo)
• Finnish: hiljainen (fi), äänetön (fi)
• French: silencieux (fr) m, (verb "to be silent") se taire (fr)
• Georgian: ჩუმი (čumi)
• German: still (de), (verb "to be silent") schweigen (de)
• Greek: αθόρυβος (el) (athóryvos)

  Ancient: ἤρεμος (ḗremos), ἀκέων (akéōn)

• Hindi: चुप (hi) (cup), ख़ामोश (xāmoś)
• Hungarian: csendes (hu), hangtalan (hu), zajtalan (hu)
• Icelandic: hljóður (is) m
• Ingrian: hiljain, äänetöin
• Irish: i do thost, tostach
• Italian: silenzioso (it)
• Japanese: 静かな (shizuka na), 無音の (muon no)
• Karachay-Balkar: тынч (tınç)
• Khmer: ស្ងៀម (km) (sngiəm), ស្ងាត់ (km) (sngat)
• Korean: 조용하다 (ko) (joyonghada)
• Kyrgyz: унчукпоо (uncukpoo)
• Lao: ມິດ (mit), ນິ້ງ (ning), ສງັດ (sa ngat)
• Latgalian: kluss m, trāps
• Latin: silens (la), tacitus
• Latvian: kluss m
• Macedonian: тих (tih), молчи impf (molči) (verb "to be silent"), ќу́ти impf (ḱúti) (verb "to be silent)
• Maltese: sieket m, siekta f
• Maori: mōhū
• Mongolian: номхон (mn) (nomxon)
• Norman: silencieux
• Northern Sami: jaskat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lydløs

• Occitan: silenciós (oc) m
• Old English: swīġe, swīgian (verb "to be silent")
• Old Saxon: swigon (verb "to be silent")
• Ottoman Turkish: صوص (sus), خاموش (hamuş)
• Persian: خاموش (fa) (xâmuš), بی‌صدا (bi-sedâ), آرام (fa) (ârâm)
• Plautdietsch: stell
• Polish: cichy (pl), bezszelestny (pl)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt)
• Quechua: upalla
• Romanian: liniștit (ro)
• Russian: ти́хий (ru) (tíxij), молча́ть (ru) impf (molčátʹ) (verb "to be silent")
• Serbo-Croatian: tih (sh) m

  Cyrillic: му́чати impf (verb "to be silent"), тих

  Roman: múčati (sh) impf (verb "to be silent"), tih (sh)

• Slovak: tichý, mlčať (sk) impf (verb "to be silent")
• Slovene: tih (sl), molčati (sl) impf (verb "to be silent")
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: mjelcaś impf (verb "to be silent")

• Southern Altai: унчукпа- (unčukpa-)
• Spanish: silencioso (es), callar (es) (verb "to be silent")
• Swedish: tyst (sv)
• Tagalog: tahimik
• Thai: เงียบ (th) (ngîiap), นิ่ง (th) (nîng), สงัด (th) (sà-ngàt)
• Turkish: sessiz (tr)
• Ukrainian: ти́хий (týxyj), мовча́ти impf (movčáty) (verb "to be silent")
• Vietnamese: yên lặng (vi)
• Volapük: stilik (vo)
• Welsh: (verb "to be silent") tewi (cy)
• Yiddish: שטום (shtum)
• Zazaki: béveng

not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn

• Armenian: լուռ (hy) (luṙ)
• Bulgarian: безмълвен (bg) (bezmǎlven)
• Cherokee: ᎡᏝᏪᎢ (etlawei)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 沉默 (cam⁴ mak⁶), 緘默／缄默 (gaam¹ mak⁶, zin¹ mak⁶)

  Mandarin: 沉默 (zh) (chénmò), 緘默／缄默 (zh) (jiānmò)

• Dutch: zwijgend (nl), zwijgzaam (nl)
• Esperanto: silenta, muta (eo)
• Finnish: hiljainen (fi), vaitelias (fi)
• French: silencieux (fr) m, muet (fr)
• Georgian: ჩუმი (čumi)
• German: schweigsam (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: σιγηρός (sigērós)

• Hindi: चुप (hi) (cup)
• Hungarian: csendes (hu), hallgatag (hu), szótlan (hu)
• Irish: i do thost, tostach
• Italian: muto (it), silenzioso (it)
• Japanese: 黙っている (ja) (damatte iru), 無言の (mugon no)
• Latin: tacitus
• Maori: mōhū, karangatā (remaining quiet when called), whakakeke
• Norman: silencieux
• Ottoman Turkish: خاموش (hamuş)
• Persian: خاموش (fa) (xâmuš), ساکت (fa) (sâket), لال (fa) (lâl)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt), quieto (pt)
• Romanian: tăcut (ro)
• Russian: молчали́вый (ru) (molčalívyj), безмо́лвный (ru) (bezmólvnyj)
• Swedish: tystlåten (sv)
• Turkish: dilsiz (tr), lal (tr)
• Vietnamese: lặng lẽ (vi), câm lặng
• Yiddish: שטום (shtum)
• Zazaki: sukut

keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed

• Armenian: խաղաղ (hy) (xaġaġ), հանդարտ (hy) (handart)
• Finnish: tyyni (fi)
• German: still (de)
• Italian: silente (it), tranquillo (it)
• Khiamniungan Naga: tànglō
• Latin: tranquilis
• Northern Sami: hiljit
• Persian: آرام (fa) (ârâm)
• Turkish: sakin (tr)

not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent

• Bulgarian: непроизносим (neproiznosim)
• Finnish: hiljainen (fi)
• French: muet (fr) m
• German: stumm (de)
• Greek: αθόρυβος (el) (athóryvos)
• Hungarian: néma (hu)
• Norwegian: stum (no)
• Persian: خاموش (fa) (xâmuš)
• Polish: bezdźwięczny (pl)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt)
• Romanian: silențios (ro)
• Russian: непроизноси́мый (ru) (neproiznosímyj), немо́й (ru) (nemój)
• Swedish: stum (sv)
• Turkish: sessiz (tr)
• Zazaki: isız

having no effect; not operating; inefficient

• Finnish: äänetön (fi), tehoton
• Persian: ناکار (fa) (nâkâr)
• Turkish: etkisiz (tr)

in silent mode, on silent, with the sound turned off

• Bulgarian: заглушен (bg) (zaglušen)
• Finnish: äänetön (fi), äänettömällä, äänettömälle
• German: lautlos (de), leise (de), stumm (de)
• Polish: bezdźwięczny (pl)
• Russian: беззву́чный (ru) (bezzvúčnyj)

without audio capability

• Bulgarian: ням (bg) (njam)
• Finnish: hiljainen (fi)
• Italian: muto (it), silenzioso (it)
• Persian: لال (fa) (lâl), گنگ (fa) (gong)
• Portuguese: mudo (pt)
• Zazaki: lal (diq)

hidden, unseen

• Finnish: hiljainen (fi)
• Turkish: sessiz (tr), sakin (figuratively)

not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence

• Finnish: hiljainen (fi)
• French: silencieux (fr)
• Italian: silenzioso (it)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt)
• Spanish: silencioso (es)
• Zazaki: bévengey

undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms

• Bulgarian: безсимптомен (bezsimptomen)
• Finnish: piilevä (fi)
• French: silencieux (fr)
• Italian: silenzioso (it)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt)
• Spanish: silencioso (es)

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

• Greek: ^{(please verify)} σιωπηλός (el) (siopilós)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} silencioso (es), ^{(please verify)} callado (es)

Noun

silent (plural silents)

1. (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.

2. 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

that which is silent

• Finnish: hiljaisuus (fi)
• Italian: silenzio (it) m
• Persian: خاموش (fa) (xâmuš)
• Portuguese: silêncio (pt) m
• Zazaki: xemis

Further reading

• “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

• ELINTs, Teslin, enlist, inlets, leints, lets in, listen, tinsel

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [siˈlen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [siˈlent]

Adjective

silent m or f (masculine and feminine plural silents)

1. silent

   Synonym: silenciós

French

Verb

silent

1. third-person plural present indicative/subjunctive of siler

Anagrams

• lisent

Latin

Verb

silent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of sileō