Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Silent

Si′lent (sī′lent), a. [L. silens, -entis, p. pr. of silere to be silent; akin to Goth. ana-silan.] 1. Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.

How silent is this town! Shak.

2. Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.

Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most silent of men. Broome.

This new-created world, whereof in hell Fame is not silent. Milton.

3. Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed; as, the wind is silent. Parnell. Sir W. Raleigh.

4. (Pron.) Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent; as, e is silent in "fable."

5. Having no effect; not operating; inefficient. [R.]

Cause . . . silent, virtueless, and dead. Sir W. Raleigh.

Silent partner. See Dormant partner, under Dormant.

Syn. — Mute; taciturn; dumb; speechless; quiet; still. See Mute, and Taciturn.

Si′lent, n. That which is silent; a time of silence. [R.] "The silent of the night." Shak.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.