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”). Cognate with 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, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, 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 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.

2. Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
   • 1726, William Broome, The Odyssey (by Homer)

     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.

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 37026674, (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:https://doi.org/10.1093/ijl/ecy010, 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. 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
• serosilent
• silent agitator
• silent alarm
• silent as the grave
• silent auction
• silent barter
• silent butler
• silent cinema
• silent commerce
• silent cop
• silent disco
• silent film
• silent forest syndrome
• silent h
• silentish
• silent key
• silently
• silent majority
• silent majority
• silent miscarriage
• silent mode
• silent number
• silent partner
• silent policeman
• Silent Sam
• silent service
• silent treatment
• silent vote
• strong silent type

 

Related terms

• silence
• silentiary
• silentious

Translations

free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet

• Arabic: صَامِت‎ (ṣāmit), سَاكِت‎ (sākit)

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

• Armenian: խաղաղ (hy) (xałał), հանգիստ (hy) (hangist), հանդարտ (hy) (handart)
• Belarusian: ці́хі (be) m (cíxi), (verb "to be silent") маўча́ць impf (maŭčácʹ)
• Bengali: খামোশ (khamoś)
• Bulgarian: мълча́ (bg) impf (mǎlčá) (verb "to be silent"), тих (bg) (tih)
• 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)

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

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

• 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)

• Hindi: चुप (hi) (cup)
• Hungarian: csendes (hu), hangtalan (hu), zajtalan (hu)
• Icelandic: hljóður (is) m
• Irish: i do thost
• Italian: silenzioso (it)
• Japanese: 静かな (shizuka na), 無音の (muon no)
• Khmer: ស្ងៀម (km) (sngiəm), ស្ងាត់ (sngat)
• Korean: 조용하다 (ko) (joyonghada)
• 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: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: silencieux
• Northern Sami: jaskat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lydløs

• Occitan: silenciós (oc) m
• Old English: swīgian (verb "to be silent")
• Old Saxon: swigon (verb "to be silent")
• Persian: خاموش‎ (fa) (xâmuš), بی‌صدا‎ (bi-sedâ), آرام‎ (fa) (ârâm)
• Plautdietsch: stell
• Polish: milczeć (pl) (verb "to be silent"), cichy (pl)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt)
• Quechua: upalla
• 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 impf (verb "to be silent")
• Slovene: tih (sl), molčati (sl) impf (verb "to be silent")
• Sorbian:

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

• 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)
• Cherokee: ᎡᏝᏪᎢ (etlawei)
• Chinese:

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

  Mandarin: 沉默 (zh) (chénmò), 緘默 (zh), 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
• 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
• Persian: خاموش‎ (fa) (xâmuš), ساکت‎ (fa) (sâket), لال‎ (fa) (lâl)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt), quieto (pt)
• 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) (xałał), հանդարտ (hy) (handart)
• Finnish: tyyni (fi)
• German: still (de)

• Italian: silente (it), tranquillo (it)
• Latin: tranquilis
• Northern Sami: hiljit
• Persian: آرام‎ (fa) (ârâm)
• Turkish: sakin (tr)

not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent

• Finnish: hiljainen (fi)
• French: muet (fr) m
• German: stumm (de)
• Greek: αθόρυβος (el) (athóryvos)
• Hungarian: néma (hu)
• Norwegian: stum (no)

• Persian: خاموش‎ (fa) (xâmuš)
• Portuguese: silencioso (pt)
• 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

• Finnish: äänetön (fi), äänettömällä, äänettömälle

• German: lautlos (de), leise (de), stumm (de)

without audio capability

• 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

• 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, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. 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, 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.

2. A silent movie
   • 2007 August 12, Woody Allen, “The Man Who Asked Hard Questions”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     All kinds, silents and talkies.

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 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

Anagrams

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

---

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /siˈlent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /siˈlen/

Adjective

silent (masculine and feminine plural silents)

1. silent

   Synonym: silenciós

---

French

Verb

silent

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

Anagrams

• lisent

---

Latin

Verb

silent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of sileō