Etymologically
Log in

muttio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 14:22. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmʊt.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmut.ti.o][1]

Forms

muttiō (present infinitive muttīre, perfect active muttīvī); fourth conjugation, no passive, no supine stem[1] The spelling mūtiō is also found.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin mūtus (“dumb, speechless”) + -iō, with an expressive doubling of the ⟨t⟩, according to de Vaan, who takes mūtus as “one who can say nothing but mū”, so that the verb covers both “to say mu” and “to be dumb”.[4][1] The OLD and the TLL call it onomatopoeic and compare mū and mutmut.[5][6] The adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *mūto- and Proto-Indo-European *mū̆-to-; de Vaan finds the root *mū̆ with various extensions in the Indo-European languages, and in Latin also in mūgiō (“to low”).[4] Cognate with Sanskrit मूक (mū́ka-, “dumb”) and Ancient Greek μῡκός (mūkós).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,[4] meaning to mutter or make the least sound: etiam muttis? “are you still muttering?”[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In early Latin it is used mostly in threats and negations: Plautus has impinge pugnum, si muttiverit, “punch him if he mutters”,[2][7] and Terence nihil iam mutire audeo, “I don't dare make a sound now”.[2][7] A line of Ennius quoted by Festus says palam muttire plebeio piaculum est, “for a plebeian it is a crime to mutter openly”, and Festus explains the verb as “to speak”.[2][6] Plautus also uses it of a creaking door hinge (num muttit cardo?),[2] Petronius has nec muttis, “and you don't say a word”,[3] and the Vulgate uses it of a dog growling (non muttiet canis).[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of people muttering and of a creaking hinge.[2][8]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius writes palam muttire plebeio piaculum est.[2][8]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it in nihil iam mutire audeo.[2][8]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of keeping silent.[3][8]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of a dog growling.[3][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To mutter, murmur; to make the least sound (mostly with a negative).[5][2][7]
  2. Of a hinge, to creak.[2]
  3. Of animals, to growl or bleat.[2][3]

Word family

  • demuttio
  • muttītiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de