Etymologically
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silence

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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

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