silence
Middle English
/siːˈlɛns(ə)/
noun
Definitions
- Silence; the state of refraining or refusing to speak.
- Peace, calm; a state of tranquil and restful behaviour.
- Quietness; a lack of sound or speaking (for a given area or time).
- Refraining from excessive speaking or talking.
- The following of a religious vow of silence.
- (rare) The termination of a dispute or conflict.
- (rare) Secrecy or freedom from disruption.
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French silence derived from Latin silentium (silence).
Origin
Latin
silentium
Gloss
silence
Concept
Semantic Field
Sense perception
Ontological Category
Person/Thing
Emoji
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- conspiracy of silence English
- desilence English
- nonsilence English
- outsilence English
- resilence English
- silence English
- silenceable English
- silencer English
- unsilence English
- silentiosus Latin
- silentium Latin
- silēns Latin
- silenzio Italian
- silencio Spanish, Castilian
- silence Old French