silent

Etymology

From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).

adj

1. Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
   What was formerly performed by fleets and armies, by invasions, sieges, and battles, has been of late accomplished by more silent methods. 1825, Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy, The Works of Samuel Johnson, Talboys and Wheeler, page 52
   The voice of the auctioneer is slow and low […]; after a pause, which seems no silenter than the rest of the transaction, he ceases to repeat the bids, and his fish, in the measure of a bushel or so, have gone for a matter of three shillings. 1906, William Dean Howells, Sidney Dillon Ripley, Certain Delightful English Towns: With Glimpses of the Pleasant Country Between, Harper & Brothers, page 152
2. Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
   Tothero is silent before replying. His great strength is in these silences; he has the disciplinarian's trick of waiting a long moment while his words gather weight. 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 38
3. Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed.
   The winds were silent, all the waves asleep, / And heaven was trac'd upon the flattering deep a. 1718, Thomas Parnell, Hesiod; or, the Rise of Woman
4. (pronunciation) Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent.
   The e is silent in fable.
   Silent letters can make some words difficult to spell.
   The “l” in the English word "salmon" is silent.
5. Having no effect; not operating; inefficient.
6. (technology) With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode.
   My phone was on silent.
7. (technology) Without audio capability.
   The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.
8. Hidden, unseen.
   a silent voter; a silent partner
9. Of an edit or change to a text, not explicitly acknowledged.
   silent revisions; a silent emendation
   [T]he use of both acknowledged and unacknowledged (silent) translations of non-English sources makes it difficult for users to determine if a certain term genuinely appeared in an English-language text. 2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 496
10. (genetics) Not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence.
11. Undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms.
12. Of distilled spirit: having no flavour or odour.

noun

1. (uncountable) That which is silent; a time of silence.
2. A silent movie
   All kinds, silents and talkies. August 12, 2007, Woody Allen, “The Man Who Asked Hard Questions”, in New York Times