muto

Forms

muto (feminine muta, masculine plural muti, feminine plural mute)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mūtus (“dumb, speechless”).^[2][3][4][1] DELI notes that the Latin word was first said of animals (⟨mutae pecudes⟩), which can only say ⟨mu⟩, as in other languages.^[2] The same word is Old French mu (French muet, from a diminutive), Occitan mut, Catalan mut, Spanish mudo, Portuguese mudo, Logudorese mudu and Romanian mut.^[3][5][6] Old Italian mutto and northern ⟨mut⟩, like Friulian mut, show the influence of Latin muttiō (“to mutter”).^[5][7]

The Latin word is from Proto-Italic *mūto-, Proto-Indo-European *mū̆-to-, from an imitative root: the dumb person is “he who can only say mū”.^[8][3] Cognates are Sanskrit मूक (mū́ka, “dumb”), Ancient Greek μυνδός (mundós, “dumb”) in Hesychius, and Old Armenian մունջ (munǰ, “dumb”).^[8][3][1] The same root is in mūgiō (“to low”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Guittone d'Arezzo, before 1294, for a person who cannot speak; the 13th-century Gallo da Pisa has the extended sense “speechless with emotion”, and Ugo di Perso the noun, “a mute person”.^[2] In Giordano da Pisa's Lenten sermons (1305–1306) muto and mutolo alternate, even within one sermon.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the word of animals that have no voice, and Dante has muti for children silent with shame.^[9] The proverb i gran dolori sono muti (“great sorrows are dumb”) echoes the Latin curae leves loquuntur, ingentes stupent.^[9] The sense “silent, soundless”, also figurative, is dated to Tasso (1581), and “unexpressed” to Francesco de Lemene (1699).^[2]

In the 20th century the phrase cinema muto “silent film” gave the noun il muto (1963).^[2][10] In phonetics muto describes a letter written but not pronounced, such as the Italian ⟨h⟩, and a stop consonant; in winemaking, mosto muto is must kept from fermenting.^[4][11][12] The noun mutismo, recorded in 1851–1860, is modelled on French mutisme (1741); purists of the 19th century condemned it as a French import.^[2][3]

Timeline

• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo has the first record, “unable to speak”.^[2][3]
• 13th century – Gallo da Pisa uses muto for someone left speechless by emotion;^[2] Ugo di Perso has the noun.^[2]
• 1305–1306 – Giordano da Pisa alternates muto and mutolo.^[2]
• Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi has muteza “dumbness”.^[2]
• 1541 – The homograph mutto, a grain measure, is recorded.^[4]
• 1581 – Torquato Tasso uses muto for “silent, soundless”.^[2]
• 1699 – Francesco de Lemene uses it for “unexpressed”.^[2]
• 1851–1860 – Mutismo is first recorded.^[2]
• 1963 – Il muto is recorded for silent cinema.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. mute, dumb: unable to speak because of mutismo or deaf-mutism: è muto dalla nascita.^[4][13][10]
2. Silent, saying nothing; speechless with emotion: restò muto per lo stupore;^[4][13][11] muto come un pesce, silent as the grave.^[4][13][11]
3. Not expressed in words: una rabbia muta.^[4][13][11]
4. Without sound, silent;^[4][13][11] cinema muto or film muto, silent film;^[4][13][11] carta muta, a map without names;^[4][13][11] fare scena muta, to be unable to answer, especially in an oral test at school.^[4][13][11]
5. (literary) Lifeless: il tuo cenere muto (Foscolo).^[4][13][11]
6. (linguistics) Of a letter, written but not pronounced, like the ⟨h⟩ of ho; of a consonant, a stop (obstruent).^[4][12][1]
7. (oenology) Of grape must, prevented from fermenting.^[4][11][10]

Noun

1. A mute person: il linguaggio dei muti, sign language.^[4][10][7]
2. (singular only) Silent cinema: i grandi attori del muto.^[10][1]

Word family

• mutolo
• mutismo
• mutezza
• ammutolire
• mutamente

Related words

• sordomuto
• Latin mūtus
• French muet

Usage notes

A minor homograph muto, also mutto (1541), is an old measure for grain used in Austria in the 16th and 17th centuries, about fifteen staia; it is from German Mutt, from Latin modius “peck”.^[4][14] In Irpinia muto is a large funnel for filling barrels, from a form of imbuto.^[15][16] Muto is also “I change”, the first person singular present of mutare.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
7. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2540
15. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Marcato, Carla (1998), I dialetti italiani: dizionario etimologico, Torino: UTET
16. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca