Advertisement

Origin and history of mute

mute(adj.)

late 14c., mewet "silent, not speaking," from Old French muet "dumb, mute" (12c.), diminutive of mut, mo, from Latin mutus "silent, speechless, dumb," probably from imitative base *meue- (source also of Sanskrit mukah "dumb," Greek myein "to be shut," of the mouth). Form assimilated in 16c. to Latin mutus. The meaning "incapable of utterance, dumb" is by mid-15c.

mute(v.)

in music, "deaden the sound of," 1861, from mute (n.). Related: Muted; muting.

mute(n.)

late 14c. (late 12c. as a surname), "person who does not speak" (from inability, unwillingness, etc.), from mute (adj.). From 1570s as "stage actor in a dumb show." The musical sense "device to deaden the resonance or tone of an instrument" is by 1811 of stringed instruments, 1841 of horns.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to mute

muted(adj.)

by 1840, in reference to musical instruments, past-participle adjective from mute (v.). Figuratively by 1879. Of colors by 1905. Related: mutedness.

miosis(n.)

"contraction of the pupil of the eye," 1819, from Greek myein "to shut (the eyes)" + -osis. Greek myein is perhaps originally "to close the lips," from PIE *meue- "to be silent" (see mute (adj.)). Related: Miotic.

Advertisement

More to explore

myopia
"short-sightedness," 1727, medical Latin, from Late Greek myōpia "near-sightedness," from myōps "near-sighted," literally "closing the eyes, blinking," on the notion of "squinting, contracting the eyes" (as near-sighted people do), from myein "to shut" (see mute (adj.)) + ōps (ge
mystery
early 14c., misterie, in a theological sense, "religious truth via divine revelation, hidden spiritual significance, mystical truth," from Anglo-French *misterie, Old French mistere "secret, mystery, hidden meaning" (Modern French mystère) and directly from Latin mysterium "secre
muffle
early 15c., "to cover or wrap (something) to conceal or protect," perhaps from Old French moufle "thick glove, mitten;" see muff (n.). Compare Old French enmoufle "wrapped up;" Middle French mofler "to stuff." The meaning "wrap something up to deaden sound" is recorded by 1761. R
wah-wah
1926, in jazz slang, in reference to the effect on brass instruments made by manipulating the mute; of imitative origin....
tinsel
Fr., the s of es- had long been mute" [OED]....
herb
The form of the English word was refashioned after Latin since 15c., but the h- was mute until 19c....
susurration
swer- "to buzz, whisper" (source also of Sanskrit svarati "sounds, resounds," Greek syrinx "flute," Latin surdus "dull, mute...
soften
late 14c., softenen, transitive, "mitigate, diminish" sorrow, etc., from soft (adj.) + -en (1). The meaning "make physically soft" is from c. 1400; the intransitive sense of "to become (physically) soft or softer" is attested from early 15c. The earlier verb was soft (v.) "make s
listen
Old English hlysnan (Northumbrian lysna) "to listen, hear; attend to, obey" (transitive), from Proto-Germanic *hlusinon (source also of Dutch luisteren, Old High German hlosen "to listen," German lauschen "to listen"), from PIE root *kleu- "to hear." This root is the source also
silent
c. 1500, "without speech, not speaking," from Latin silentem (nominative silens) "still, calm, quiet," present participle of silere "be quiet or still" (see silence (n.)). The meaning "free from noise or sound" is from 1580s. Of letters in a word, "not sounded or pronounced," c.

Share mute

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near mute
Advertisement