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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mute \Mute\, noun The dung of birds. --Hudibras.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mute \Mute\, adjective [L. mutus; cf. Gr. my'ein to shut, Skr. m[=u]ta bound, m[=u]ka dumb: cf. OE. muet, fr. F. muet, a dim. of OF. mu, L. mutus.]
1. Not speaking; uttering no sound; silent.
All the heavenly choir stood mute, And silence was in heaven. --Milton.
Note: In law a prisoner is said to stand mute, when, upon being arranged, he makes no answer, or does not plead directly, or will not put himself on trial.
2. Incapable of speaking; dumb. --Dryden.
3. Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; -- said of certain letters. See 5th {Mute}, 2.
4. Not giving a ringing sound when struck; -- said of a metal.
{Mute swan} (Zo["o]l.), a European wild white swan ({Cygnus olor} syn. {Cygnus gibbus}), which produces no loud notes, in distinction from the {Trumpeter swan}.
Syn: Silent; dumb; speechless.
Usage: {Mute}, {Silent}, {Dumb}. One is silent who does not speak; one is dumb who can not, for want of the proper organs; as, a dumb beast, etc.; and hence, figuratively, we speak of a person as struck dumb with astonishment, etc. One is mute who is held back from speaking by some special cause; as, he was mute through fear; mute astonishment, etc. Such is the case with most of those who never speak from childhood; they are not ordinarily dumb, but mute because they are deaf, and therefore never learn to talk; and hence their more appropriate name is deaf-mutes.
They spake not a word; But, like dumb statues, or breathing stones, Gazed each on other. --Shak.
All sat mute, Pondering the danger with deep thoughts. --Milton.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mute \Mute\ (m[=u]t), verb (used with an object) [L. mutare to change. See {Molt}.] To cast off; to molt.
Have I muted all my feathers? --Beau. & Fl.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mute \Mute\, verb (used with an object) & i. [F. mutir, ['e]meutir, OF. esmeltir, fr. OD. smelten, prop., to melt. See {Smelt}.] To eject the contents of the bowels; -- said of birds. --B. Jonson.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mute \Mute\, noun
1. One who does not speak, whether from physical inability, unwillingness, or other cause. Specifically: (a) One who, from deafness, either congenital or from early life, is unable to use articulate language; a deaf-mute. (b) A person employed by undertakers at a funeral. (c) A person whose part in a play does not require him to speak. (d) Among the Turks, an officer or attendant who is selected for his place because he can not speak.
2. (Phon.) A letter which represents no sound; a silent letter; also, a close articulation; an element of speech formed by a position of the mouth organs which stops the passage of the breath; as, {p}, {b}, {d}, {k}, {t}.
3. (Mus.) A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other material, so formed that it can be fixed in an erect position on the bridge of a violin, or similar instrument, in order to deaden or soften the tone.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
mute
adjective
1: expressed without speech; especially because words would be inappropriate or inadequate; "a mute appeal"; "a silent curse"; "best grief is tongueless"- Emily Dickinson; "the words stopped at her lips unsounded"; "unspoken grief"; "choking exasperation and wordless shame"- Thomas Wolfe [syn: {tongueless}, {unspoken}, {wordless}]
2: lacking power of speech [syn: {tongueless}]
3: unable to speak because of hereditary deafness [syn: {dumb}, {silent}]
noun
1: a deaf person who is unable to speak [syn: {deaf-mute}, {deaf-and-dumb person}]
2: a device used to soften the tone of a musical instrument
verb: deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping [syn: {muffle}, {dull}, {damp}, {dampen}, {tone down}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
200 Moby Thesaurus words for "mute": abiotic, acoustic tile, allophone, alveolar, anaudic, antiknock, aphasic, aphonic, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, articulation, aspiration, assimilation, azoic, baffle, baffler, baton, bearer, bilabial, bit player, breathless, brief, brusque, cacuminal, cerebral, check, close, close-tongued, closemouthed, concise, consonant, continuant, curt, cushion, damp, dampen, dampener, damper, deaden, deaf-mute, deafen, dental, diapason, diphthong, dissimilation, dull, dumb, dumbfounded, dumbstricken, dumbstruck, dummy, economical of words, epenthetic vowel, exanimate, explosive, extra, figurant, figurante, gag, glide, glottal, glottalization, griever, guttural, hush, hushcloth, inanimate, inanimated, inarticulate, indisposed to talk, inert, insensate, insensible, insentient, keener, labial, labialization, labiodental, labiovelar, laconic, lamenter, laryngeal, lateral, lifeless, lingual, liquid, manner of articulation, metronome, modification, monochord, monophthong, morphophoneme, mourner, muffle, muffler, mum, music stand, muzzle, nasal, nonconscious, nonliving, occlusive, palatal, pallbearer, parasitic vowel, peak, pharyngeal, pharyngealization, phone, phoneme, pitch pipe, plosive, professional mourner, prothetic vowel, quiet, quietener, reserved, retroflex, rhythmometer, segmental phoneme, semivowel, senseless, short, silence, silence cloth, silencer, silent, snug, soft pedal, soft-pedal, soften, sonant, sonometer, sonority, sordine, sordino, soulless, sound-absorbing material, soundproofing, soundproofing insulation, sourdine, sparing of words, spear-carrier, speech sound, speechless, stand-in, standby, stick, stifle, stop, stricken dumb, subdue, substitute, supe, super, supernumerary, support, supporting actor, supporting cast, suppress, surd, syllabic nucleus, syllabic peak, syllable, tacit, taciturn, terse, tight-lipped, tone down, tone measurer, tongue-tied, tongueless, transition sound, triphthong, tuning bar, tuning fork, tuning pipe, turn down, unanimated, unconscious, understudy, unfeeling, unloquacious, unsaid, unspoken, untalkative, velar, vocable, vocalic, vocoid, voice, voiced sound, voiceless, voiceless sound, voicing, vowel, walk-on, walking gentleman, word-bound, wordless
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