silence

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsaɪ.ləns/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English silence, borrowed from Old French silence,^[2][3][4] from Latin silentium (“a being silent”), from silēns, present participle of silēre “to be quiet or still”,^[2][3][5] a word of unknown origin according to Etymonline.^[2] Barnhart relates it to Gothic anasilan “to calm down”.^[3] It is related to silent.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Keeping silent, refraining from speech: before 1225 in the OED, about 1200 in Etymonline, in the Ancrene Riwle according to Barnhart.^[7][2][3]

Semantic evolution

The absence of all sound is from 1382 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[7][2] A vow of silence in a religious order is from 1387,^[7] and the absence of mention, as of a writer, from the 1570s.^[2] As an imperative, “Silence!”, it is from 1590.^[7] The verb, to become silent, is from 1560, and to make silent from the 1590s (1598 in MWU).^[3][2][4] Silence is golden is Carlyle's translation of a German proverb in 1831.^[2][6]

Timeline

• a. 1225 – not speaking.^[7]
• 1382 – absence of sound.^[7]
• 1560 – verb, to become silent.^[3]
• 1598 – to make silent.^[4]
• 1831 – silence is golden.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Complete absence of sound.
2. The state of not speaking.
3. A period without speech or noise.
4. Refusal to talk about something or reveal information.

Verb

1. To make someone stop speaking or making a noise.
2. To stop someone from expressing opinions; to suppress.

Word family

• silencer
• cone of silence
• conspiracy of silence
• tower of silence

Related words

• silent

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press