silence
English
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Etymology
From Middle English silence, from Old French silence, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin silentium (“silence”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsaɪ.ləns/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsaɪ.ləns/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -aɪləns
Noun
silence (usually uncountable, plural silences)
- The absence of any sound.
- When the motor stopped, the silence was almost deafening.
- The act of refraining from speaking.
- "You have the right to silence," said the police officer.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
- Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.
- D. Webster
- The administration itself keeps a profound silence.
- Form of meditative worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers); meeting for worship.
- During silence a message came to me that there was that of God in every person.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from silence (noun)
Related terms
Translations
lack of any sound
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right to not speak during arrest
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not speaking as meditation or prayer
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Verb
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- (transitive) To make (someone or something) silent.
- Can you silence the crowd, so we can start the show?
- (transitive) To repress the expression of something.
- Women, as well as children, have their thoughts or emotions routinely silenced.
- (transitive) To suppress criticism, etc.
- Silence the critics.
- Silence the doubters.
- 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian[1]:
- A state ideology, mixing nationalism, and basic Marxist economics, going under the name "Juche", was constructed, and Kim Il-sung effectively silenced, disposed of and cleared away any opposition, isolating the country and exercising an iron grip on the military, the state media and the government and party organs.
- (molecular biology) To block gene expression.
- (euphemistic) murder
- 2013, Mark Shaw, The Poison Patriarch: How the Betrayals of Joseph P. Kennedy Caused the Assassination of JFK, →ISBN, page 150:
- They, and others through the years, believed Ruby must have acted on his own since there was no logic to the supposition that anyone could trust an uncontrollable, unreliable loudmouth like Ruby to silence Oswald.
Derived terms
Translations
to make something silent
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to suppress criticism
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See also
Interjection
silence
- (imperative) Be silent.
- Silence! Enough of your insolence!
- 2007 September 17, Spark of Insanity[2], spoken by Achmed the Dead Terrorist (Jeff Dunham):
- (in response to laughter from the audience)
Silence! I kill you!
Synonyms
Translations
be silent
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Anagrams
French
Etymology
(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin silentium (“silence”)
Pronunciation
Noun
silence m (plural silences)
Antonyms
Derived terms
Further reading
- “silence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Ido
Etymology
silenco (“silence”) + -e (indicates an adverb).
Adverb
silence
Related terms
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old French silence, from Latin silentium.
Pronunciation
Noun
silence (uncountable)
- Silence; the state of refraining or refusing to speak.
- a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Apocalips 8:1”, in Wycliffe's Bible:
- And whanne he hadde openyd the seuenthe seel, a silence was maad in heuene, as half an our.
- And when he had opened the seventh seal, silence occurred in heaven for half an hour.
- Peace, calm; a state of tranquil and restful behaviour.
- Quietness; a lack of sound or speaking (for a given area or time).
- Refraining from excessive speaking or talking.
- The following of a religious vow of silence.
- (rare) The termination of a dispute or conflict.
- (rare) Secrecy or freedom from disruption.
Descendants
References
- “sī̆lence (n.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-11-03.
Middle French
Noun
silence f (plural silences)
- silence (absence of noise)
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/aɪləns
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English transitive verbs
- en:Molecular biology
- English euphemisms
- English interjections
- English basic words
- en:Silence
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French terms with homophones
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- Ido terms suffixed with -e
- Ido lemmas
- Ido adverbs
- Middle English terms borrowed from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Latin
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English uncountable nouns
- Middle English terms with quotations
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- enm:Religion
- enm:Silence
- enm:Sound
- enm:Talking
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French feminine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns