mute

- 11 dictionary results

mute

[myoot]

adjective, mut⋅er, mut⋅est, noun, verb, mut⋅ed, mut⋅ing.

–adjective

1.	silent; refraining from speech or utterance.

2.	not emitting or having sound of any kind.

3.	incapable of speech; dumb.

4.	(of letters) silent; not pronounced.

5.	Law. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or giving an irrelevant response when arraigned, or refusing to stand trial (used chiefly in the phrase to stand mute).

6.	Fox Hunting. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.

–noun

7.	a person incapable of speech.

8.	an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.

9.	Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.

10.	Also called sordino. a mechanical device of various shapes and materials for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.

11.	Phonetics. a stop.

12.	British Obsolete. a hired mourner at a funeral; a professional mourner.

–verb (used with object)

13.	to deaden or muffle the sound of.

14.	to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.

Origin:
1325–75; < L mūtus dumb; r. ME muet < MF, equiv. to OF mu (< L mūtus) + unexplained suffix -et; cf. -et

Related forms:

mutely, adverb

muteness, noun

Synonyms:
3. still. See dumb.

Antonyms:
1. talkative.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To mute

mute (myōōt)

adj. mut·er, mut·est

Refraining from producing speech or vocal sound.
1. Often Offensive Unable to speak.
2. Unable to vocalize, as certain animals.
3. Not pronounced; silent, as the e in the word house.
4. Pronounced with a temporary stoppage of breath, as the sounds (p) and (b); plosive; stopped.
Expressed without speech; unspoken: a mute appeal.
Law Refusing to plead when under arraignment.
Linguistics
1. Not pronounced; silent, as the e in the word house.
2. Pronounced with a temporary stoppage of breath, as the sounds (p) and (b); plosive; stopped.

Often Offensive One who is incapable of speech.
Law A defendant who refuses to plead when under arraignment.
Music Any of various devices used to muffle or soften the tone of an instrument.
Linguistics
1. A silent letter.
2. A plosive; a stop.

tr.v. mut·ed, mut·ing, mutes

To soften or muffle the sound of.
To soften the tone, color, shade, or hue of.

[Middle English muet, from Old French, from diminutive of mu, from Latin mūtus.]
mute'ly adv., mute'ness n.

Usage Note: In reference to people who are unable to speak, mute and deaf-mute are now often considered objectionable. The offense is due not only to the bluntness of these terms but also to the implication that a person who is incapable of oral speech is necessarily deprived of the use of language. In fact, many deaf people today communicate naturally and fully through the use of a sign language such as ASL, and no one who has witnessed such a conversation would ever think to call the participants mute. See Usage Note at deaf.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Mute

Mute\, v. t. [L. mutare to change. See Molt.] To cast off; to molt.

Have I muted all my feathers? --Beau. & Fl.

Mute

Mute\, v. t. & i. [F. mutir, ['e]meutir, OF. esmeltir, fr. OD. smelten, prop., to melt. See Smelt.] To eject the contents of the bowels; -- said of birds. --B. Jonson.

Mute

Mute\, n. The dung of birds. --Hudibras.

Mute

Mute\, a. [L. mutus; cf. Gr. ? to shut, Skr. m?ta bound, m?ka dumb: cf. OE. muet, fr. F. muet, a dim. of OF. mu, L. mutus.]

1. Not speaking; uttering no sound; silent.

All the heavenly choir stood mute, And silence was in heaven. --Milton.

Note: In law a prisoner is said to stand mute, when, upon being arranged, he makes no answer, or does not plead directly, or will not put himself on trial.

2. Incapable of speaking; dumb. --Dryden.

3. Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; -- said of certain letters. See 5th Mute, 2.

4. Not giving a ringing sound when struck; -- said of a metal.

Mute swan (Zo["o]l.), a European wild white swan (Cygnus gibbus), which produces no loud notes.

Syn: Silent; dumb; speechless.

Usage: Mute, Silent, Dumb. One is silent who does not speak; one is dumb who can not, for want of the proper organs; as, a dumb beast, etc.; and hence, figuratively, we speak of a person as struck dumb with astonishment, etc. One is mute who is held back from speaking by some special cause; as, he was mute through fear; mute astonishment, etc. Such is the case with most of those who never speak from childhood; they are not ordinarily dumb, but mute because they are deaf, and therefore never learn to talk; and hence their more appropriate name is deaf-mutes.

They spake not a word; But, like dumb statues, or breathing stones, Gazed each on other. --Shak.

All sat mute, Pondering the danger with deep thoughts. --Milton.

Mute

Mute\, n. 1. One who does not speak, whether from physical inability, unwillingness, or other cause. Specifically: (a) One who, from deafness, either congenital or from early life, is unable to use articulate language; a deaf-mute. (b) A person employed by undertakers at a funeral. (c) A person whose part in a play does not require him to speak. (d) Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is selected for his place because he can not speak.

2. (Phon.) A letter which represents no sound; a silent letter; also, a close articulation; an element of speech formed by a position of the mouth organs which stops the passage of the breath; as, p, b, d, k, t.

3. (Mus.) A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other material, so formed that it can be fixed in an erect position on the bridge of a violin, or similar instrument, in order to deaden or soften the tone.

Language Translation for : mute

Spanish: mudo,

German: stumm,

Japanese: 口のきけない

More Translations »

mute

c.1374, mewet, "silent," from O.Fr. muet, dim. of mut, mo, from L. mutus "silent, dumb," probably from imitative base *mu- (cf. Skt. mukah "dumb," Gk. myein "to be shut," of the mouth). Assimilated in form in 16c. to L. mutus. The verb is first attested 1861. Musical noun sense first recorded 1811, of stringed instruments, 1841, of horns.

Main Entry: ¹mute
Pronunciation: 'myüt
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: mut·er; mut·est
: unable to speak : DUMB —mute·ness noun

Main Entry: ²mute
Function: noun
: one who cannot or does not speak

mute (my&oomacr;t)
adj.
Unable or unwilling to speak. n.
One who does not have the faculty of speech. No longer in technical use, considered offensive.

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