mutus

Forms

mūtus (feminine mūta, neuter mūtum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mūto-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mū̆-to-, from an imitative root: de Vaan explains it as one “who cannot say anything but ⟨mū⟩”.^[2][3] Cognate with Sanskrit मूक (mū́ka-, “dumb”), Ancient Greek μυκός (mukós, “dumb”) and Old Armenian մունջ (munǰ, “dumb”).^[2][4] Within Latin it is related to muttiō (“to mutter”) and mussō (“to murmur”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Naevius, in a tragedy: dūcite eō … mūtās quadrupedīs, “lead the dumb four-footed beasts there”.^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

It is first said of animals, which can only make inarticulate sounds, and as a neuter plural noun mūta are the dumb creatures.^[3] Of people it is dumb, lacking speech (Plautus), and of things soundless; the dea Mūta was a nymph Jupiter struck dumb for talking too much (Ovid).^[3] It often means simply silent, saying nothing, as Plautus' joke that no silent woman has ever been found, and a persōna mūta is a character who says nothing on stage.^[3] With emotion it is speechless (Terence: he said nothing on the spot).^[3]

Church Latin glosses it “dumb, unable to speak”, and as a noun a mute person.^[6] In New Latin it is used as a specific epithet in biology.^[1] English mute came through Old French muet in the late 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius of dumb beasts.^[3][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of dumb and silent people.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of a silent character on the stage.^[3][5]
• late 14th century – English mute, through Old French.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of animals) Inarticulate, dumb.^[3]
2. (of persons) Unable to speak, dumb, mute.^[3][1][6]
3. silent, saying nothing; making no sound.^[3][1]
4. Speechless (with emotion).^[3]

Noun

1. A mute person;^[3][6] (neuter plural) dumb creatures.^[3][6]

Word family

• muttiō
• muttītiō
• obmūtēscō

Related words

• mūgiō
• mussō
• English mute

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com