taciturn

English

WOTD – 12 November 2007

Etymology

Back-formation from taciturnity, from Middle English taciturnite, from Latin taciturnitas; or alternatively from French taciturne, likely reinforced by Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (“secret, tacit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
• IPA^(key): /ˈtæsɪtɝn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

taciturn (comparative more taciturn, superlative most taciturn)

1. Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.

   The two sisters could hardly have been more different, one so boisterous and expressive, the other so taciturn and calm.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 18:

     We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the eclat of a proverb.

Synonyms

• (silent): reticent, untalkative
• See also Thesaurus:taciturn

Antonyms

• (silent): garrulous, loquacious

Derived terms

• taciturnity
• taciturnly

Related terms

• tacit
• tacitly
• tacitness

Translations

untalkative, silent

• Belarusian: маўклі́вы (maŭklívy), негаманлі́вы (njehamanlívy)
• Catalan: taciturn (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 沉默寡言 (zh) (chénmòguǎyán), 沉默 (zh) (chénmò)

• Czech: mlčenlivý, nemluvný
• Dutch: zwijgzaam (nl)
• Esperanto: silentema
• Finnish: hiljainen (fi), jörö (fi)
• French: taciturne (fr)
• Galician: taciturno
• Georgian: სიტყვაძვირი (siṭq̇vaʒviri), სიტყვაძუნწი (siṭq̇vaʒunc̣i), ენაუთქმელი (enautkmeli), სიტყვაუთქმელი (siṭq̇vautkmeli), სულგაკმენდილი (sulgaḳmendili), სულგანაბული (sulganabuli), უსიტყვო (usiṭq̇vo)
• German: schweigsam (de), wortkarg (de)
• Greek: λακωνικός (el) (lakonikós), ολιγόλογος (el) (oligólogos), σιωπηλός (el) (siopilós)

  Ancient: ἐχέμυθος (ekhémuthos)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hallgatag (hu)
• Italian: taciturno (it)
• Japanese: 無口 (ja) (むくち, mukuchi), 寡黙 (ja) (かもく, kamoku)
• Latin: taciturnus
• Macedonian: ќутлив m (ḱutliv), молчелив m (molčeliv)
• Maori: whakarikiriki, hauarea, hauwarea
• Persian: کم حرف (fa) (kam harf), کم گوی (kam guy)
• Portuguese: taciturno (pt)
• Russian: молчали́вый (ru) (molčalívyj), неразгово́рчивый (ru) (nerazgovórčivyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: šutljiv (sh) m, mučaljiv (sh) m, nerazgovorljiv (sh) m
• Spanish: taciturno (es)
• Swedish: fåordig (sv), tystlåten (sv), ordkarg (sv), ordknapp
• Ukrainian: мовчазни́й (movčaznýj), мовчазли́вий (movčazlývyj)
• Westrobothnian:

Anagrams

• tinctura, urticant

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin taciturnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [tə.siˈturn]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ta.siˈtuɾn]

Adjective

taciturn (feminine taciturna, masculine plural taciturns, feminine plural taciturnes)

1. taciturn

Related terms

• tàcit

Further reading

• “taciturn” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “taciturn”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “taciturn” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “taciturn” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.