Silent
/ˈsaɪ.lənt/noun
Not making or accompanied by sound; quiet.
Did you know?English got *silent* through French from Latin *silēns*, the present participle of *silēre*, meaning “to be quiet” or “to be still,” a root that also gave us the eerie idea of silence as something actively held.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*swel-
“to be quiet, to be still”
Latin
Latin
silēre
“to be quiet, to be still”
Latin
Latin
silēns
“being silent, still”
Old French
Old French
silent
“silent, quiet”
Middle English
English
silent
“silent, not speaking”