taciturn

English

WOTD – 12 November 2007

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtæsɪtɝn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

taciturn (comparative more taciturn, superlative most taciturn)

1. Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.

   Synonyms: reticent, untalkative; see also Thesaurus:taciturn

   Antonyms: garrulous, loquacious

   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.

   • 1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 14:

     We spent a lot of time up on the staging of the great furnaces, trying to pick up the tricks of the trade from the taciturn furnacemen who sat around placidly smoking, or chewing twist, and occasionally throwing in more pig iron to the molten white-hot metal.

Derived terms

• taciturnity
• taciturnly

Related terms

• tacit
• tacitly
• tacitness

Translations

untalkative, silent

• Belarusian: маўклі́вы (maŭklívy), негаманлі́вы (njehamanlívy), нетавары́скі (njetavarýski)
• Bulgarian: мълчали́в (bg) (mǎlčalív), необщи́телен (bg) (neobštítelen)
• Catalan: taciturn (ca)
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: mlčenlivý (cs), 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), maulfaul (de), verschwiegen (de), kurzsilbig, einsilbig (de), sprechfaul (de), mundfaul (de)
• Greek: λακωνικός (el) (lakonikós), ολιγόλογος (el) (oligólogos), σιωπηλός (el) (siopilós)

  Ancient: ἐχέμυθος (ekhémuthos), σιωπητικός (siōpētikós)

• Hungarian: hallgatag (hu)
• Ido: tacera, tacema (io)
• Irish: tostach
• Italian: taciturno (it)
• Japanese: 無口な (ja) (むくちな, mukuchi na), 寡黙な (ja) (かもくな, kamoku na)
• Latin: taciturnus
• Macedonian: ќутлив (ḱutliv), молчалив (molčaliv)
• Maori: whakarikiriki, hauarea, hauwarea
• Persian: کم حرف (fa) (kam harf), کم گوی (kam guy)
• Polish: małomówny (pl), milczący (pl), milkliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: taciturno (pt)
• Romanian: taciturn (ro)
• Russian: молчали́вый (ru) (molčalívyj), неразгово́рчивый (ru) (nerazgovórčivyj), необщи́тельный (ru) (neobščítelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шу̀тљив, муча̀љив, неразговорљив

  Roman: šùtljiv (sh), mučàljiv (sh), nerazgovorljiv (sh)

• Slovak: mlčanlivý
• Slovene: molčeč (sl)
• Spanish: taciturno (es)
• Swedish: fåordig (sv), tystlåten (sv), ordkarg (sv), ordknapp
• Ukrainian: мовчазни́й (movčaznýj), мовчазли́вий (movčazlývyj), нетовари́ський (netovarýsʹkyj)

Anagrams

• tinctura, urticant

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed 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.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French taciturne, from Latin taciturnus.

Adjective

taciturn m or n (feminine singular taciturnă, masculine plural taciturni, feminine and neuter plural taciturne)

1. taciturn

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	taciturn		taciturnă		taciturni	taciturne
	definite	taciturnul		taciturna		taciturnii	taciturnele
genitive- dative	indefinite	taciturn		taciturne		taciturni	taciturne
	definite	taciturnului		taciturnei		taciturnilor	taciturnelor

Related terms

• taciturnitate