Reticent
/ˈrɛt.ɪ.sənt/noun
Reserved, silent, or reluctant to speak openly.
Did you know?Reticent comes from Latin reticēre, meaning “to keep silent” or “say nothing,” built from re- (“back”) + tacēre (“to be silent”), the same ancient silence-root behind tacit.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tak-
“to be silent, be quiet”
Latin
Latin
tacēre
“to be silent”
Latin
Latin
reticēre
“to keep silent, hold back speech”
Late Latin
Latin
reticent-
“silent, not speaking out”
16th Century
English
reticent
“silent or restrained in speech”
Modern English
English
reticent
“reserved, reluctant to speak openly”