German

Noun

Mute

1. (dated) alternative form for the dative singular of Mut

English

Adjective

mute ‎(comparative muter, superlative mutest)

1. Not having the power of speech; dumb. [from 15th c.]
   • Ovid: Metamorphoses, translated by John Dryden [17th c.]

     Thus, while the mute creation downward bend / Their sight, and to their earthly mother tend, / Man looks aloft; and with erected eyes / Beholds his own hereditary skies. / From such rude principles our form began; / And earth was metamorphos'd into Man.

2. Silent; not making a sound. [from 15th c.]
   • Milton

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

   • 1956, Ernst Kaiser and Eithne Wilkins (?, translators), Lion Feuchtwanger (German author), Raquel: The Jewess of Toledo (translation of Die Jüdin von Toledo), Messner, page 178:

     “ […] The heathens have broken into Thy Temple, and Thou art silent! Esau mocks Thy Children, and Thou remainest mute! Show thyself, arise, and let Thy Voice resound, Thou mutest among all the mute!”

3. Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; said of certain letters.
4. Not giving a ringing sound when struck; said of a metal.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

mute ‎(plural mutes)

1. (phonetics, now historical) A stopped consonant; a stop. [from 16th c.]
2. (obsolete, theater) An actor who does not speak; a mime performer. [16th-19th c.]
   • 1668 OF Dramatick Poesie, AN ESSAY. By JOHN DRYDEN Esq; (John Dryden)

     As for the poor honest Maid, whom all the Story is built upon, and who ought to be one of the principal Actors in the Play, she is commonly a Mute in it:

3. A person who does not have the power of speech. [from 17th c.]
4. A hired mourner at a funeral; an undertaker's assistant. [from 18th c.]
   • 1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast

     The little box was eventually carried in one hand by the leading mute, while his colleague, with a finger placed on the lid, to prevent it from swaying, walked to one side and a little to the rear.

   • 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia, Faber & Faber 1992 (Avignon Quintet), p. 481:

     Then followed a long silence during which the mute turned to them and said, ‘Of course you'll be wanting an urn, sir?’

5. (music) An object for dulling the sound of an instrument, especially a brass instrument, or damper for pianoforte; a sordine. [from 18th c.]

Translations

Verb

mute ‎(third-person singular simple present mutes, present participle muting, simple past and past participle muted)

1. (transitive) To silence, to make quiet.
2. (transitive) To turn off the sound of.

   Please mute the music while I make a call.

Derived terms

• muter

Translations

See also

• autism
• dumb

Etymology 2

From Middle French muetir, probably a shortened form of esmeutir, ultimately from Proto-Germanic.

Verb

mute ‎(third-person singular simple present mutes, present participle muting, simple past and past participle muted)

1. (now rare) Of a bird: to defecate. [from 15th c.]
   • 1946, George Orwell, Animal Farm, Signet Classics, pages 40–41:

     All the pigeons, to the number of thirty-five, flew to and fro over the men's heads and muted upon them from mid-air;...

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ben Jonson to this entry?)

Noun

mute ‎(plural mutes)

1. The faeces of a hawk or falcon.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Hudibras to this entry?)

Translations

Etymology 3

Latin mutare ‎(“to change”).

Verb

mute ‎(third-person singular simple present mutes, present participle muting, simple past and past participle muted)

1. (transitive) To cast off; to moult.
   • Beaumont and Fletcher

     Have I muted all my feathers?

French

Verb

mute

1. first-person singular present indicative of muter
2. third-person singular present indicative of muter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of muter
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of muter
5. second-person singular imperative of muter

Anagrams

• émut, émût
• meut
• muet

Italian

Adjective

mute

1. feminine plural of muto

Noun

mute f

1. plural of muta

Latgalian

Noun

mute f

1. mouth

Latin

Adjective

mūte

1. vocative masculine singular of mūtus

Latvian

Mute

Picture dictionary
ūka lūpa mēle priekšzobi acu zobi mazie dzerokļi zobi mandele lilie dzerokļi m.aukslējas c.aukslējas smaganas
Mute
galva ķermenis

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *mnt-, *ment- ‎(“to chew; jaw, mouth”). Cognate with Latin mentum ‎(“chin”) and mandō ‎(“to chew”), Ancient Greek μάσταξ ‎(mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι ‎(masáomai, “to chew”), Welsh mant ‎(“jawbone”), Hittite mēni ‎(“chin”), Proto-Germanic *munþaz ‎(“mouth”) (English mouth, German Mund, Dutch mond, Swedish mun, Icelandic munnur, Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 ‎(munþs)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mutɛ]

Noun

mute f (5th declension)

1. (anatomy) mouth (orifice for ingesting food)

   mutes orgāni — mouth organs

   aizvērt muti‎ ― to close one's mouth

   plātīt muti‎ ― to keep one's mouth open, to gape

   turēt mutē konfekti‎ ― to have candy in one's mouth

   mutes kaktiņi‎ ― corners of the mouth

   mutes harmonikas‎ ― harmonica (musical instrument)

2. orifice, opening, entrance

   krāsns mute‎ ― the mouth of the oven

3. face

   mazgāt muti‎ ― to wash one's mouth (= face)

   bērni ar netīrām mutēm‎ ― children with dirty mouths (= faces)

4. kiss

   dot mutes‎ ― to give mouths (= kisses)

Declension

Derived terms

• mutīgs
• mutisks

Spanish

Verb

mute

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of mutar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of mutar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of mutar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of mutar.