Etymology From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).
Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
How silent is this town!c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
What was formerly performed by fleets and armies, by invasions, sieges, and battles, has been of late accomplished by more silent methods.1825, Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy, The Works of Samuel Johnson, Talboys and Wheeler, page 52
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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.1906, William Dean Howells, Sidney Dillon Ripley, Certain Delightful English Towns: With Glimpses of the Pleasant Country Between, Harper & Brothers, page 152:
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Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most silent of men.1725–1726, Homer, “(please specify the book or chapter of the Odyssey)”, in [William Broome, Elijah Fenton, Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
This new-created world, whereof in hell / Fame is not silent.1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
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Tothero is silent before replying. His great strength is in these silences; he has the disciplinarian's trick of waiting a long moment while his words gather weight.1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 38:
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Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed.
The winds were silent, all the waves asleep, / And heaven was trac'd upon the flattering deepa. 1718, Thomas Parnell, Hesiod; or, the Rise of Woman:
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Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent.
The e is silent in fable.
Silent letters can make some words difficult to spell.
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The l in the English word salmon is silent.
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Having no effect; not operating; inefficient.
Cause […] silent, virtueless, and dead.1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):
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Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Technology With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode.
My phone was on silent.
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Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Technology Without audio capability.
The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.
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Hidden, unseen.
a silent voter; a silent partner
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Of an edit or change to a text, not explicitly acknowledged.
silent revisions; a silent emendation
[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.2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 496:
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Biology, Genetics, Medicine, Natural sciences, Sciences Not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence.
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Undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms.
Etymology From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).
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That which is silent; a time of silence.
Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
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A silent movie
More than 40 films will be shown spanning the past seventy-five years, including early silents and talkies, contemporary productions, foreign and American films, documentaries, underground works and television shows.1978 April 22, “The Celluloid Closet”, in Gay Community News, page 2:
Silent
noun
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In plural A member of the Silent Generation.
From Ali (technically a Silent who was born in 1942), to Tommie Smith's medal-stand protest, to Joe Namath's Super Bowl prediction to the hair-raising Oakland A's and the raucous Bronx Zoo Yankees of the 1970s, to the outbursts of Connors and McEnroe on the tennis court, to King's tireless push for women's equality off it, this was a generation unafraid of offering opinions.2011 February 17, Richard Rothschild, “Ranking generations of athletes”, in Sports Illustrated, New York, N.Y.: Arena Group Holdings, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 May 2022:
In a somewhat bizarre set of survey data from 2015, 33 percent of Millennials identified as Gen X, and 8 percent said that they were Boomers. Fifteen percent of Gen Xers said that they identified as Boomers, while a baffled 2 percent of Boomers and 4 percent of Silents thought of themselves as Millennials.2021 October 14, Joe Pinsker, “'Gen Z' Only Exists in Your Head”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Sep 2023: