mute
Definitions
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WordNet 3.6
- adj mute unable to speak because of hereditary deafness
- adj mute expressed without speech "a mute appeal","a silent curse","best grief is tongueless"- Emily Dickinson","the words stopped at her lips unsounded","unspoken grief","choking exasperation and wordless shame"- Thomas Wolfe"
- v mute deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
- n mute a device used to soften the tone of a musical instrument
- n mute a deaf person who is unable to speak
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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- Mute (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 .
- Mute (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.
- Mute A person employed by undertakers at a funeral.
- Mute A person whose part in a play does not require him to speak.
- Mute Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is selected for his place because he can not speak.
- Mute Incapable of speaking; dumb.
- Mute Not giving a ringing sound when struck; -- said of a metal.
- Mute Not speaking; uttering no sound; silent. "All the heavenly choir stood mute ,
And silence was in heaven." - Mute 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.
- Mute One who does not speak, whether from physical inability, unwillingness, or other cause.
- Mute One who, from deafness, either congenital or from early life, is unable to use articulate language; a deaf-mute.
- n Mute The dung of birds.
- v. t Mute mūt To cast off; to molt. "Have I muted all my feathers?"
- v. t. & i Mute To eject the contents of the bowels; -- said of birds.
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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- mute Silent; not speaking; not uttering words.
- mute Incapable of utterance; not having the power of speech; dumb; hence, done, made, etc., without speech or sound.
- mute In grammar and philology:
- mute Silent; not pronounced: as, the b in dumb is mute.
- mute Involving a complete closure of the mouth-organs in, utterance: said of certain alphabetic sounds: see II., 2.
- mute In mineralogy, applied to metals which do not ring when struck.
- mute In entomology, not emitting audible sounds: opposed to sonant, stridulating, shrilling, etc.: said of insects.
- mute Showing no sign; devoid; destitute.
- mute Synonyms and Dumb, etc. See silent.
- n mute A person who is speechless or silent; one who does not speak, from physical inability, unwillingness, forbearance, obligation. etc. A dumb person; one unable to use articulate speech from some infirmity, either congenital or acquired as from deafness; a deaf-mute.
- n mute In some Eastern countries, a dumb porter or doorkeeper, usually one who has been deprived of speech.
- n mute In theaters, one whose part is confined to dumb-show; also, a spectator; a looker-on.
- n mute In law, a person who makes no response when arraigned and called on to plead or answer.
- n mute In grammar and philology, an alphabetic utterance involving a complete closure of the mouth-organs; a. check; a stop; an explosive. The name is especially appropriate as applied to the surd or breathed consonants, t. p, k, since these involve a momentary suspension of utterance, no audible sound being produced during the continuance of the closure, whose character is shown only by its explosion upon a following sound, or, much more imperfectly, by its implosion upon a preceding sound; but it is also commonly given to the corresponding sonant or voiced consonants, d, b, g, and even to the nasals, n, m, ng.
- n mute In music:
- n mute In stringed musical instruments of the viol family, a clip or weight of brass, wood, or ivory that can be slipped over the bridge so as to deaden the resonance without touching the strings; a sordino.
- n mute In metal wind-instruments, a pear-shaped leathern pad which can be inserted into the bell to check the emission of the tone.
- mute In music, to deaden or muffle the sound of, as an instrument. See mute, n., 3.
- mute To check fermentation in. See mutage.
- mute To change the feathers; mew; molt, as a bird.
- mute To shed; molt, as feathers.
- n mute A mew for hawks.
- n mute A pack of hounds.
- n mute The cry of hounds.
- mute To pass excrement: said of birds.
- mute To void, as dung: said of birds.
- n mute The dung of fowls.
- n mute See the quotation.
- mute In numismatics, destitute of legend or means of identification beyond those furnished by heraldic or other symbolic devices.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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- adj Mute mūt incapable of speaking: dumb: silent: unpronounced
- n Mute one dumb, or remaining silent: a person stationed by undertakers at the door of a house at a funeral: a stopped sound, formed by the shutting of the mouth-organs, esp. the surds t, p, k, but also applied to the sonant or voiced consonants d, b, g, and even the nasals n, m, ng:
- v.t Mute to deaden sound
- v.i Mute mūt to dung, as birds.
- n Mute (law) one who refuses to plead
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Quotations
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“Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.”
Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
L. mutus,; cf. Gr. my`ein to shut, Skr. mūta, bound, mūka, dumb: cf. OE. muet, fr. F. muet, a dim. of OF. mu, L. mutus,
Usage
In literature:
There was much meaning in that mute exchange.
"The Story of the Foss River Ranch" by Ridgwell Cullum
If this was any man's work but yours I'd tell Duchy this night; but bein' you, I'll keep mute.
"Children of the Mist" by Eden Phillpotts
The new-comers nodded to the colonel and Gilmore as they paused to stare mutely at the body on the floor.
"The Just and the Unjust" by Vaughan Kester
I remained mute and watched the rising tide of excitement.
"Life in a Thousand Worlds" by William Shuler Harris
Now she remained for several minutes looking at it fixedly, in mute contemplation.
"His Masterpiece" by Emile Zola
Almost as soon as he had gone a deaf-mute boy passed.
"In Indian Mexico (1908)" by Frederick Starr
She stood mutely struggling for self-control while Jack continued.
"The Odds" by Ethel M. Dell
She beat her hands with a small, fierce movement on his knees, mutely refusing to answer.
"The Safety Curtain, and Other Stories" by Ethel M. Dell
The hounds all this time had been running, or rather racing, nearly mute.
"Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour" by R. S. Surtees
Gilbert went over and stared down at the mute frame.
"The Bad Man" by Charles Hanson Towne
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In poetry:
I sat and sat, I did not stir;
They talked and talked away.
I was as mute as any stone,
I had no word to say.
They talked and talked away.
I was as mute as any stone,
I had no word to say.
"To a Dead Poet" by Amy Levy
Within my narrow bed,
Might I not wholly mute or useless be;
But hope that they, who trampled o'er my head,
Drew still some good from me!
Might I not wholly mute or useless be;
But hope that they, who trampled o'er my head,
Drew still some good from me!
"Declining Days" by Henry Francis Lyte
Now sign your names, which shall be read,
Mute symbols of a joyful morn,
By village eyes as yet unborn;
The names are sign'd, and overhead
Mute symbols of a joyful morn,
By village eyes as yet unborn;
The names are sign'd, and overhead
"In Memoriam A. H. H.: 131" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
When victory,
not my victory,
but the great victory comes,
even though I am mute I must speak;
I shall see it come even though I am blind.
not my victory,
but the great victory comes,
even though I am mute I must speak;
I shall see it come even though I am blind.
"The Dead Woman" by Pablo Neruda
Now sign your names, which shall be read,
Mute symbols of a joyful morn,
By village eyes as yet unborn;
The names are sign'd, and overhead
Mute symbols of a joyful morn,
By village eyes as yet unborn;
The names are sign'd, and overhead
"In Memoriam 131: O Living Will That Shalt Endure" by Alfred Lord Tennyson
But this is past; and nought remains,
That raised thee o’er the brute.
Thy piercing shrieks, and soothing strains,
Are like, forever mute.
That raised thee o’er the brute.
Thy piercing shrieks, and soothing strains,
Are like, forever mute.
"My Childhood Home I See Again" by Abraham Lincoln
In news:
There are moments when I think the mute button on my television remote could be the greatest invention .
During election years, the poor mute button gets a workout.
WSJ calls Clinton 'mute' just as she opens up.
Swans - especially exotic mute swans - are notorious for aggressive behavior around suburban ponds in North America.
It forces people to register online to buy the iPhone, which is muting the frenzy.
Bird lover speaks out for mute swans, state looks at plan to kill them.
Luckily, I have a mute button on my TV remote.
S recovery since 2009 has been muted.
Uncertainty Mutes Impact of Monetary , Fiscal Policy.
Greek vote boosts Asia stocks but Europe muted .
Issues muted in Oregon's quiet election.
Salvation Army trumpeter muted by Wal-Mart.
A muted recovery is forecast for US and global economies.
Markets Muted After Greek Deal.
Muted response from members for shareholder fund.
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In science:
This is clearly responsible for a similar, though slightly more muted, trend in the full GC system (Figure 8).
Dynamics of the Globular Cluster System Associated with M49 (NGC4472): Cluster Orbital Properties and the Distribution of Dark Matter
The squares of these operators are unity and their components anticom2 |ψi to be the same as the Klein-Gordon mute, in order for the equation ˆω2 |ψi = −∂t equation.
Founding quantum theory on the basis of consciousness
Here we use a as a mute variable ranging in A, and similarly for b.
O-minimal spectrum
The infrared data is compatible with a featureless spectrum, as well as with the presence of muted molecular features.
The prevalence of dust on the exoplanet HD 189733b from Hubble and Spitzer observations
Molecular features are predicted over this interval by clear-atmosphere models, but are found to be muted in the data.
The prevalence of dust on the exoplanet HD 189733b from Hubble and Spitzer observations
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